Two Indian nationals were arrested with smuggled gold bars weighing 5.5kg and foreign currencies at Shahjalal International Airport on Saturday morning, said officials from the Customs Department.
The arrested are Jignesh Kumer and Dinesh Mongi Lal.
Qamrul Hasan, assistant commissioner of the Customs Depart said the Indian nationals were arrested after they arrived at the airport at 4:30am on an Etihad Airways flight, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates.
Customs sources said Jignesh was arrested around 5:30am in the Green Channel area while Mongi Lal was arrested at around 7:30am.
Later on customs officials also seized 86,000 Dirham and 36000 Indian Rupees from their possessions.
Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, Customs official Qamrul said, “The detained Indians had boarded the flight which was on the Dhaka to Kolkata. They might have arrived in Dhaka to hand over the gold bars to somebody else.”
A case will be filed and they will be handed over to the Airport Police Station, he added.
Customs and intelligence officials have seen a record quantity of over 500kg of gold seized at the airports in Dhaka and Chittagong over the last 10 months as. Gold smuggling has become rampant, a reflection of increased duties and taxes on the import of precious metals in India.
India increased import duty on gold jewellery to 15% from 10% on September 17 this year, adding that the Indian move was aimed at protecting the domestic jewellery industry, rather than stemming overseas purchases, to narrow its current account deficit.
Sources said as jewellery industry in Bangladesh is based on the smuggled gold, and not approved commercial imports.
The Indian tax change has accelerated the smuggling trend. Gold smuggling has also jumped significantly in India and Nepal following a series of hikes on import taxes.
The biggest ever haul of 124kg gold in Bangladesh was recovered from a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight in July.
It is widely known that many groups are active in the smuggling of gold, various precious stones, metals and valuables through the airport in cooperation with a section of officials and employees.
