Despite extensive CCTV and AI camera coverage, advanced scanners and gold detection machines, and surveillance by more than 50 intelligence officials, gold smuggling through Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka continues.
Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID) has seized six “gold eggs” in two separate operations at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on Monday.
On October 28, the Dhaka Customs House preventive team seized 12kg of gold paste hidden on two Chinese passengers at the airport. The gold was estimated to be worth Tk24 crore.
Earlier, on October 4, customs intelligence officials recovered 80 gold bars weighing 9.34kg from the shoes of two airline employees on the airport runway. The gold was valued at around Tk16.25 crore.
Investigations have found that smugglers use both passengers and dishonest airport employees as carriers. Although authorities have arrested some carriers, the masterminds behind the operations often remain beyond the reach of law enforcement. As a result, investigators have struggled to uncover the full smuggling networks.
Intelligence officials are concerned about how smugglers continue to bring in gold despite extensive technological and human surveillance.
According to sources concerned, more than 60kg of gold had been seized at Shahjalal airport up to September this year. The amount was around 87kg in 2025 and 26kg in 2024.
Kazi Al Masum, assistant director of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate, told Bangla Tribune that surveillance had not been reduced and that it had helped officials seize several large consignments.
He said smugglers used both passengers and dishonest airport employees as carriers, adding that several airline employees had already been arrested.
“Perhaps some consignments managed to get through because of such involvement. However, our assessment is that gold smuggling is under control compared with previous years due to the use of technology and close surveillance by all agencies,” he said.
Technology covers the airport's airside
Intelligence officials said passengers remain under technology-based surveillance from the moment they leave an aircraft until they exit the airport.
CCTV cameras cover the entire area, while AI-powered facial recognition cameras are installed at several points from immigration to the exit. If someone previously caught carrying gold or other contraband enters the arrival area, the system sends an alert to the relevant authorities.
The airport also has advanced scanners and gold detection machines. Despite these measures, gold seizures continue to occur.
An intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said smugglers were aware of the high risk of getting caught but continued their operations. They were also trying to use airport employees, some of whom had been arrested.
Asked how the networks managed to evade detection, the official said carriers were often kept unaware of the identities of the people behind the consignments.
“They use a cut-out system. The carrier may not even know the person who handed over the gold. They are given a code and instructed to hand over the gold to someone outside the airport using that code,” the official said.
As a result, even when carriers are arrested and questioned, they can provide little information beyond the code. The masterminds remain out of reach, making it difficult to dismantle the entire network.
Alongside technological monitoring, intelligence agencies maintain close watch on passengers. More than 50 officials from different agencies are involved in the surveillance, including officers from two intelligence agencies, customs, customs intelligence and Aviation Security (AvSec).
Passengers arriving from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Singapore and Malaysia are under particularly close scrutiny.
Gold seizures over three years
Faruk Abdullah, a revenue officer with the Customs Preventive Team, said 26kg of gold was seized at the Airport in 2024, around 87kg in 2025 and 60kg up to September this year.
“We deposit the seized gold with Bangladesh Bank at regular intervals. Most recently, we deposited 21kg of gold with the central bank on October 7,” he said.
According to sources, Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport has long been a major hub for gold smuggling. Smugglers are constantly changing their methods, concealing gold in fruit consignments, passengers' bodies, luggage and electronic devices.
There have also been cases of gold being hidden inside vacuum cleaners, laptop batteries, trolley handles, shoes and shirt collars. Smugglers continue to adapt their methods to evade customs and law enforcement agencies.
Investigating agencies believe Dubai in the UAE is a major source of smuggled gold. Consignments also arrive from Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait and Qatar.
On October 3, the Airport Armed Police Battalion (APBn) detained seven people in three separate operations and recovered around 781 grams of gold jewellery.
The following day, two employees of Biman Bangladesh Airlines were arrested with 80 gold bars weighing around 9kg. Smuggling networks use both passengers and airport employees as carriers, while associates based in Bangladesh receive and distribute consignments sent from abroad.
Several major gold seizures have been made at the airport in recent months. On July 2, officials recovered 18.72kg of gold from an aircraft's cargo hold. On July 19, another 16kg was seized from a fruit consignment.
Earlier, on March 28, 17.901kg of gold was recovered from a toilet panel in the cargo compartment of a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight arriving from Dubai.
These incidents have raised questions about internal security at the airport. Investigations are ongoing to identify and bring those involved to justice.
Kamrul Islam, officer-in-charge of Airport Police Station, said police investigate gold seizures after cases are filed and question suspects in remand to identify the owners and intended destinations of the consignments.
“However, we have not achieved the expected results in most cases, although we have made progress in one or two incidents. In a case involving gold recovered from cargo, a clearing and forwarding (C&F) agent was also arrested,” he said.
Raich Uddin Khan, commissioner of Customs House Dhaka, said surveillance had been strengthened across the airport, with intensified intelligence monitoring and searches. Both domestic and foreign airlines are also under close scrutiny, he added.
Mohammad Nazir Ahmed Khan, superintendent of police (operations) at the Airport Armed Police Battalion, said the unit remained active in preventing theft, smuggling and other crimes at the airport.
He said operations would continue to prevent criminal activities, passenger harassment and smuggling.
Security experts believe arresting carriers alone will not be enough to stop gold smuggling. They say authorities must dismantle the entire network behind the operations.
They also stress the need for coordinated surveillance of cargo, ground handling and security operations, alongside modern scanning systems. Regular transfers and rotation of airport officials are also necessary to reduce the risk of internal collusion.