Staffers of clearing and forwarding (C&F) agents stopped working at four leading inland container depots (ICDs) in the port city since the early hours today following a dispute with customs officials, which eventually led to a clash between C&F staff and staff of an ICD.

At least six persons were injured in the clash.

The C&F staff refrained from submitting documents including shipping bills and bills of entries against export and import consignments at four ICDs including SAPL (East), SAPL (West), OCL, and Ispahani Summit Alliance Terminals Limited (ISATL).

Mosharraf Hossain, general secretary of Chattogram Customs C&F Agents Workers Union, said some of their staffers locked into an altercation with an official of Chittagong Customs House at SAPL (East) depot at Patenga around 9:00pm on Monday over strict examination process of export cargo.

Hearing this, leaders of the union, C&F Agents Association and senior officials of the depot went there and held a meeting with customs officials, he said.

"When the meeting was going on, they came to know that one of their staffers was manhandled by the prime mover workers at the depot premises which angered the C&F workers and a clash erupted among their workers and depot as well as prime mover workers," he said.

Informing that three of their staff were badly injured, Mosharraf said in protest the C&F staff stopped all types of documentation at the four ICDs mostly owned and operated by Summit Alliance Port Limited (SAPL).

Captain Kamrul Islam Mazumder, chief operating officer of the four ICDs said following a feud with a customs official the C&F staff held a demonstration at SAPL East depot around 9:00pm yesterday and then a depot manager went there to settle the issue.

But the C&F workers ransacked the customs office room, locked it, shut the main entrance of the depot and manhandled the depot manager, he said.

Later, the C&F staffers beat two other senior officials of the depot and shut the main gate of the adjoining SAPL (West) depot, he alleged adding they later stopped working at the four ICDs.

They filed a case with Patenga Police Station in this connection, he informed.

Kamrul, however, said transport of import and export containers from the depot was ongoing.