Customs House seizes 13.92kg of gold at Dhaka airport

The Customs House, Dhaka has seized 120 gold bars weighing 13.92 kilograms from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. 

The estimated market value of the seized gold is TK 25 crore.

According to an NBR press release issued today (5 September), the Customs House received information about gold smuggling on a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight operating on the Dubai-Chattogram-Dhaka route at around 11:30am today.

Following the information, customs officials and members of the preventive team conducted a special search inside Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight BG-148.

At one stage of the search, customs officials, with the assistance of the airport security guards, searched members of the mechanical and cleaning teams as they were leaving the aircraft after completing cleaning operations.

During the search, some objects wrapped in black scotch tape were found inside the belt worn by Biman Bangladesh Airlines Assistant Technical Helper Md Soaib Gazi.

The recovered items were taken to the customs hall and inventoried in the presence of representatives of different intelligence agencies. The inventory revealed 120 gold bars weighing a total of 13.92kg.

The NBR said the gold bars were apparently concealed in a sophisticated manner to smuggle them into the country by evading applicable customs duties and taxes. The smugglers apparently intended to take the gold outside the airport area later.

A joint operation by Customs House, Dhaka and various intelligence agencies prevented the attempted gold smuggling, the press release said.

As the seized gold bars are highly valuable, the authorities immediately stored them in the airport customs valuable goods warehouse.

The process to deposit the gold bars with Bangladesh Bank is underway in accordance with the standing order on the disposal of uncleared goods and goods detained and confiscated on charges of smuggling.