19 kg gold stolen from Benapole customs house

Gold weighing over 19 kilograms went missing from a vault of the Benapole customs house. Thieves have stolen the gold breaking open the lock of the vault room, said police.   

Jashore police spokesperson Towhidul Islam said the gold might have been stolen during the three-day holiday.

The customs house has formed a five-member probe committee to look into the matter.       

Towhidul Islam said, "The vault had 30 kilograms of gold, foreign currencies, black stone and other valuable documents. The heist came to light on Monday morning after the office resumed."   

After a primary assessment on Monday afternoon, customs officials found that the gold went missing.  The closed-circuit television cameras at the customs house were off during the holidays. However, police took seven persons for questioning on suspicion.

Visiting the customs office on Tuesday, security measures were found beefed up. The Ansar personnel were allowing people to go in after being confirmed about the identity.        

Although the lock of the vault room was broken, the vault was intact. Law enforcers suspected that the locker was open using duplicate keys.

Joint Customs Commissioner Md Shahidul Islam, the head of the probe committee, said they have temporarily suspended the seven people police took for questioning.

"We are looking into the heist. The probe report will be submitted in the shortest possible time," concluded Shahidul.