Dhaka Customs House recovered 1,054 grams of jewelry and 720 precious stones hidden in a jar of pickles at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on Saturday night.
The passenger, Md Johnny Rahman, was detained and later shown arrested in a case filed over the incident.
Kamrul Islam, deputy commissioner of Dhaka Customs House, confirmed the information to Dhaka Tribune on Sunday. He said the passenger arrived in Dhaka from Kolkata on a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight and that officials recovered the items during a search of his luggage.
According to a press release issued by Dhaka Customs House on Sunday, the passenger was detained at around 8:30pm on Saturday.
The customs house said its preventive team had stepped up surveillance at various points in the airport following a tip-off. The passenger's bag was scanned as he crossed the green channel after immigration without declaring any baggage.
The scan detected metallic objects inside a jar of pickles in his luggage. Customs officials then opened and searched the baggage, recovering the jewelry and precious stones.
The recovered items included 389 gold rings set with 18-carat diamonds, 151 platinum rings of 950 purity, 3 pieces of white gold jewelry, 2 silver rings, 5 gold lockets, 1 chain and 472 nose pins.
Officials also recovered 720 precious stones, including diamonds, rubies and topaz of various sizes, weighing 45 carats in total. They also found 23 certification cards used to verify the authenticity of the jewelry.
Dhaka Customs House has filed a criminal case against the passenger with Airport Police Station over the incident.
