Police and customs officials yesterday seized 90 bars of smuggled gold weighing around 9 kgs at the capital’s Banani and Hazrat Shah Jalal International Airport and arrested four persons in connection with smuggling of the gold.
Of them, 60 gold bars weighing around 6 kgs were recovered by police searching the luggage of three auto-rickshaw passengers at Banani around 4:00pm yesteraday when they had been on their way to the capital’s Purana Paltan from the airport.
Meanwhile, the 30 gold bars were recovered by customs official when they searched the luggage of a Malaysia expatriate immediately after his arrival at the airport early yesterday.
The arrestees with 60 gold bars were identified as Mohammad Sahabuddin Ahmed, 45, Shahinur Rahman, 30, and Abull Kashem, 40, while the man arrested with 30 gold bars was identified as Siyam Ahmed, 35.
In Banani, those three persons were arrested when police searched their luggage following an incident of a collision between a private car and the auto-rickshaw, which had been carrying the arrestees.
Khandaker Lutful Kabir, deputy commissioner of police for Gulshan Division, said: “The recovery of the gold was a coincidence as the arrestees were searched following a collision between a car and the auto-rickshaw.”