Customs officials seized 43 kilograms of gold bars smuggled into the country with garment accessories from the air freight unit at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka early yesterday. It is the biggest haul of smuggled gold at the cargo unit of the airport in the last 12 years, said Moinul Khan, director general of Customs Intelligence, at a press briefing at the airport. The bullions
concealed in three small travel bags were flown in in three cartons full of buttons, ribbons and zippers from Singapore by a Singapore Airlines flight around 8:30pm on Tuesday night. The total weight of the cartons was 83 kg. A team of Customs Intelligence officials on receiving information identified the cartons at a cargo unit around 2:00am and scanned them to confirm that there was gold inside, Moinul told reporters. The cartons had been booked by TR and Co in Singapore for Unitex Apparels Ltd at Karnaphuli EPZ in Chittagong. This is the second largest recovery of smuggled gold this year after 105 kg gold was seized in April from a Biman Bangladesh Airlines lavatory. The value of 43 gold bars, each weighing one kg, is around Tk 21.5 crore. A departmental case was filed as no one was arrested in connection with the latest haul of gold bars. Sources in the intelligence agencies have long been suspecting that a huge amount of gold is being smuggled into the country with cargo and passed out of the airport safely in the absence of strict screening. Advertisement "The vigilance at the airport has become more effective now than before and we are foiling all efforts of gold smuggling," Moinul said. A three-member committee headed by Customs Intelligence Deputy Director Mustafizur Rahman has been formed to investigate the incident. "The team will visit the importer garment factory and contact Singapore airport for information about the exporter," Moinul said. It has been asked to submit a report within 10 working days. A case will then be filed under Special Powers Act against the people to be found responsible during the investigation for the smuggling. Checking of garment accessories is a bit loose at the airport and the smugglers tried to take its advantage, an airport official said wishing not to be named. The gold bars, if not seized, would have been taken out of the airport through a hanger gate or any other area at night with the help of people with security passes, he added. Replying to a query, Moinul said customs officials had seized 710 kilograms of gold and arrested 90 people in Dhaka and Chittagong airports for their links to smuggling in the last 17 months.
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