In the country’s biggest ever haul of smuggled gold, 1,065 gold bars weighing over 124kg and worth about Tk540m were recovered from a Bangladeshi flag carrier soon after it landed on Wednesday at Shahjalal International Airport.
“The gold bars were recovered from the packaging panel of a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight after it landed at Dhaka airport at around 2:30pm from Kathmandu in Nepal,” Customs Commissioner Zakiya Sultana told the Dhaka Tribune.
She said the flight had originated in Dubai and travelled through Saudi Arabia and Nepal before coming here. “We are suspecting that the gold was smuggled in from Dubai,” she added.
Sultana said the gold bars were recovered moments before the flight was supposed to go to the hanger for cleaning, where the smugglers may have been waiting to take away the gold.
However, the authorities have failed to make any arrests in the incident.
Officials of the Armed Police Battalion (APBn) aided the customs officials in the raid.
Zahed Parvej Chowdhury, a senior assistant commissioner at the APBn, said: “In most cases, employees and officials at the airport help get smuggled items out of the airport premises after the carriers put them at pre-designated places.”
“They also help take such items into the airport for smuggling out of the country,” he added.
According to sources, the Shahjalal International Airport is a haven for smuggling and illegal trading networks that are helped by a section of unscrupulous officials and employees of different government and non-government agencies deployed at the airport.
According to the airport authorities, more than 3,600 people, including airline crews, civil aviation officials, customs and immigration officials, members of the National Security Intelligence (NSI) and Ansar have been arrested for complicity in smuggling in last three years by APBn, Customs, Immigration and Rapid Action Batttalion.
Among the arrestees, there were 89 airline employees including nine female flight attendants, 396 officials of the Civil Aviation Authorities of Bangladesh, 34 customs and immigration officials and 210 members of Ansar.
An airport official seeking anonymity said: “No smuggling and trafficking can be done without the help of airport employees. The quantity of smuggled goods seized or recovered is paltry compared to what goes through the fingers of the airport officials responsible for checking incoming and outgoing luggage.”
The official also said in most cases, smuggling bids fail only when there is a disagreement over commission rates or profit sharing or when a bribe is rejected.
Customs Commissioner Zakiya Sultana said: “Most of those arrested in connection with smuggling are carriers who work either on a payment basis or for a commission. Those behind the scenes remain untouched.”
