Jamaat leader detained with Tk74 lakh: What airport, customs officials say
The incident has triggered confusion over how the cash-laden luggage cleared departure procedures at Dhaka airport before the flight.
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami's Thakurgaon district unit Ameer Belal Uddin was detained with Tk74 lakh in cash at Saidpur Airport in Nilphamari today (11 January), just a day ahead of the 13th national election and referendum.
The incident has triggered confusion over how the cash-laden luggage cleared departure procedures at Dhaka airport before the flight.
Group Captain SM Ragib Samad, executive director of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, said airport authorities had informed customs officials about the matter and received no objection.
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"There are no restrictions on transporting money on domestic routes," he told the media.
However, officials at Dhaka Customs House have disputed claims that they issued any formal clearance.
Customs House Commissioner Md Mashiur Rahman told The Business Standard that, under existing law, customs authorities are not responsible for monitoring currency carried by passengers on domestic routes.
"A civil aviation officer contacted us around 9am to ask whether there were any complications regarding carrying currency, but did not provide details about the passenger.
"Even then, our officers told them that they may check the source of the money and the reason for carrying it," the commissioner said.
Rejecting media reports quoting the executive director of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport as saying customs had given a no-objection, Mashiur said, "We have already asked civil aviation officials why such statements were reported and whether they can show that customs issued any clearance. They said the news was falsely reported."
He added that Dhaka Customs House would soon issue an official clarification to the media regarding the matter.
