The New York Department of Justice accused four men on Thursday of allegedly smuggling catfish banned to the United States.
The accused were Mahmud Chowdhury, Shakil Ahmed, Belayet Hussain and Firoz Ahammad.
According to the court’s complaint, the four worked with Asia Foods Distributor Inc. to smuggle large quantities of the banned catfish into New York City.
Asia Foods Distributor Inc. has been based in New York since 2014 and listed as a domestic company, with Mahmud Chowdhury listed as executive director.
The import of Siluriformes, a biological group that includes catfish, to the United States has been banned since 2017. Industry practices in countries of origin can lead to questioning whether the fish meets the US health and safety guidelines. Imported catfish are cheaper than varieties grown in the United States, which means it is cheaper to move through the food supply chain.
The banned catfish was listed in the records as different legal species of fish and was never included in any invoice.
In October 2019, a shipment to Asia Foods Distributor Inc. included banned fish.
After further investigations under the Federal Meat Inspection Act, in collaboration with the US Department of Homeland Security, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration and the Office of the Inspector General of the US Department of Agriculture, more banned fish were discovered in the distributor’s warehouse and in customers’ stores.
Defendants face up to 25 years in prison on charges of catfish smuggling and catfish smuggling conspiracy.