Teknaf: A protest spanning 18 hours was staged at the Teknaf Port in Bangladesh on Monday after Bangladeshi authorities arrested nine Burmese citizens following the seizure of a trawler laden with smuggled timber.

"We staged an 18-hour protest against the arrest of nine Burmese citizens and the seizure of a trawler laden with timber, but at 4 pm we called off our protest after the authorities agreed to release the Burmese citizens and the seized boat,"  a Bangladeshi trader on the border said.

On Sunday, the Bangladesh Coast Guard arrested the nine Burmese citizens and seized their timber-laden trawler at St. Martin's Island in Bangladesh, along with some Burma-made alcohol and beer. After the arrest the coast guard handed them over to the police in Teknaf.

On Monday, a day after the incident, businessmen in Teknaf staged a protest against the arrest and seizure, and all trading in the port was stopped until the protest ended at 4 pm.

"Today we resumed trading at the Teknaf Port. We withdrew our strike after the coast guard withdrew the case filed with the police," the trader added.

According to Burmese trading sources, the timber trawler carried 70 tons of hardwood from Burma to sell in Bangladesh markets after passing through Teknaf.

The timber trawler is owned by a businessman in Sittwe, but the timber had been taken from Bomi Chaung in the Irrawaddy Delta. The timber also belonged to a businessman from Pathein, the capital of Irrawaddy Division.

Exporting timber from Burma to Bangladesh is illegal in Burma, but imports are not banned in Bangladesh.