Gold weighting to 1600 grams and currencies worth over Tk 32 lakh was seized in separate incidents at Hajarat Shahjalal International Airport Saturday night.
At least 10 people were arrested in connection with these incidents, said sources at the airport.
According to the sources, members of the Armed Police Battalion (APBn) arrested eight expatriates with 1600 grams of gold for evading taxes and duties while the personnel of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID) off-loaded two passengers from a Kuala Lumpur bound flight with 1,51,500 Saudi Arabian Riyals and 1,000 US dollars in their possessions.
Alamgir Hossain Shimul, a senior assistant superintendent of APBn at the airport said they arrested eight expatriates with 1600 grams worth around Tk80 lakh of gold while they had been carrying the gold without paying the due taxes.
The detainees were identified as Alauddin Bepari, Md Liton, Jasim Uddin, Sazed Ali, Nahid Al Mamun, Saiful Islam, Mohammad Jasim and Oli Ullah.
The ASP said the gold was seized by searching their bodies from 10pm on Saturday to 1:00am Sunday, immediately after their arrival at Dhaka on different flights from Singapore.
“Among them, Liton was a passenger of Singapore Airlines and the rest seven were the passengers of Tiger Airlines,” he said.
Meanwhile, the CIID personnel off-loaded two passengers of the Biman Bangladesh Airlines while they had been trying to fly for Kuala Lumpur at around 9:15pm.
The detained persons were identified as Himel Khan of Shariyatpur district, 30, and Jahangir Alam, 31, of Dhaka.
Moinul Khan, Director General of the CIID, told the Dhaka Tribune that acting on a tip-off, US dollar 1,000 and Saudi Arabian Riyal 91,500 were recovered from the possession of Himel and Saudi Arabian Riyal 60,000 from the possession of Jahangir.
“They had hid the currencies inside their shoes and the rods of their luggage,” said the CIID Director General.”
“Both Himel and Jahangir are members of a gold smuggling ring and they had been trying to smuggle out the currencies for purchasing smuggled gold in Kuala Lumpur.”
It is widely known that airports in Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet were being used by the smugglers intensively for smuggling of gold, currencies and various precious metals and stones in support with a section of unscrupulous employees and officials at the airport.
Sources said around 60 rings smuggle gold, diamond, various precious metals, stones, currencies and other items in and out of the airport.
Besides, the smuggling of gold has been intensified centring the airports in Bangladesh since the Indian government imposed some bars on the import of gold last year.
There had been the record of the seizures of 124 kgs and 109 kgs of gold in two separate hauls at the Dhaka airport.