Dhaka airport cargo vault lock found broken, GD filed
It has not yet been confirmed whether any items or weapons are missing
The lock of the strong room - a high-security storage facility - at the Cargo Import Complex of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport has been found broken, raising concerns over the security of high-value goods and sensitive documents stored inside.
Authorities of Biman Bangladesh Airlines filed a general diary (GD) at the Airport Police Station on 28 October regarding the incident.
Police later recovered lock-cutting tools from the site, and the CID's forensic team collected evidence.
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The vault is also known to contain firearms imported for law enforcement agencies. It has not yet been confirmed whether any items or weapons are missing.
Boshra Islam, spokesperson for Biman Bangladesh Airlines, told The Business Standard that both Biman and the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism have formed investigation committees over the incident.
She said they preferred not to comment further while the inquiry is underway.
Vault was sealed after earlier fire incident
The strong room had been sealed after narrowly escaping a fire at the cargo complex on 18 October.
Following the incident, an inventory was completed on 24 October in the presence of representatives from Customs, Biman, Civil Aviation, Police, and intelligence agencies.
The goods were then placed in the vault, which was locked with a chain and sealed.
According to the GD, officials present during the inventory included Customs Deputy Commissioner Neyamul, Biman GM (Cargo) Nozmul Huda, NSI Additional Director Firoz Rabbany, and Civil Aviation Authority Director Iftekhar.
Md Jamal Hossain, assistant manager (security) of Biman, stated in the GD that at 9:50pm on 27 October, he checked the vault along with police and Ansar members, and everything was intact.
However, at 7:07am on 28 October, Jahangir Alam Khan, a duty officer of the Biman Security Branch, informed him that the vault lock was missing.
Jamal Hossain and the deputy general manager (security) immediately visited the scene and found the seal broken and the lock missing. Shortly after, the Biman GM, Nozmul Huda, also arrived and confirmed the incident.
Airport officials said the vault generally stores high-value goods, import-related and customs documents, and sensitive commercial papers, which cannot be removed without authorisation from multiple agencies.
