120 grams of smuggled gold seized from abandoned baggage at Ctg airport

Customs officials have seized 120 grams of gold smuggled into the country through abandoned baggage at Shah Amanat International Airport in Chattogram, highlighting a method increasingly used to evade passenger screening.

According to a press release issued by the airport authority this morning (7 January), the gold was seized during a joint operation by the Airport Airfreight Customs unit and Aviation Security (AVSEC) at the airport's cargo terminal.

The abandoned baggage belonged to Md Abu Jahed, a passenger who arrived from Dubai on Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight BG148 at around 9:30am yesterday (6 January). Instead of carrying the items through the passenger channel, the gold was sent separately as abandoned baggage and processed through the cargo terminal using a clearing and forwarding (C&F) agent.

Customs officials said the attempt was detected at around 8:30pm when the baggage was scanned at the cargo terminal. Scanning machines identified suspicious gold-like objects concealed inside the baggage, prompting officials to detain it for further examination.

At around 12:30am on Wednesday, a certified goldsmith confirmed the items as gold ornaments in the presence of the C&F agent. The gold was subsequently seized under a departmental memorandum.

Customs sources said the baggage was cleared under Bill of Entry C-68 and Airway Bill No 997-66876725 through Mountain Shipping Limited, a licensed C&F agent.

Officials added that the seized gold weighs 112 grams net and has an estimated market value of Tk21.59 lakh, calculated at the prevailing rate of Tk19,285 per gram.

Customs officials noted that routing abandoned baggage through the cargo terminal is a known tactic used by smugglers to bypass closer scrutiny at passenger arrival points. The seized gold will remain in the custody of Chattogram Customs House, and legal proceedings are underway.