The officials of Armed Police Battalion (APBn) arrested a youth with 22 pieces of gold bars weighing about 2.5 kg at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in the capital on Thursday afternoon.
Identified as Md Didarul Islam, 25, of Hathajari in Chittagong district, the youth was arrested at the domestic area at the airport at around 2:00pm immediate after he was handed over the gold by the members of a gang involved in the gold smuggling, said customs department officials.
Senior Assistant Superintendent of APBn, Ehteshamul Huq said the gold suspected to have been taken to Dhaka from Chittagong by a domestic flight that arrived at Dhaka from Dubai after a landing at Chittagong Airport at around 1:30pm.
The APBn official said acting on a tip-off, the officials had been on vigilance and at once they found Didarul roaming around the domestic area at the airport suspiciously.
He said after searching the body and luggage of the youth, the 22 bars of gold weighing 2.5 kg were seized from him and the youth was arrested.
A case is underway in this connection, he added.
The officials of customs and APBn in last one year seized over 600 kgs of smuggled gold alongside the recovery of currencies, precious metals, stones and other valuables.
According to sources at the airport over 60 rings involved in the snuggling through the airport are active while a section of unscrupulous officials and employees are involved in the illicit activities.