The Armed Police Battalion (APBn) detained seven people during three separate operations at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Saturday.
The law enforcers also seized around 781.3 grams (about 67 bhori) of gold jewellery, 10 mobile phones, two laptops and three cartons of cigarettes, said Mohammad Nazir Ahmed Khan, Superintendent of Police (Operations) of the Airport (13) Armed Police Battalion,
In the first operation, APBn personnel conducting a covert operation near the northern side of the airport's roundabout noticed a group of people attempting to flee after sensing the presence of law enforcement.
They subsequently detained five people.
After taking them to the Airport APBn office and conducting body searches, officers recovered 484.2 grams of gold jewellery, two laptops, eight mobile phones and three cartons of cigarettes from their possession.
The detainees were identified as Tofazzal Hossain, 37, Jasim Uddin, 39, Arafat Hossain, 28, Arif, 42, and Md Alamin Gazi, 37.
In the second operation, a woman was detained after she was spotted loitering suspiciously on the paved road near Canopy No 2 in the airport's arrival area.
After taking 39-year-old Rupban Begum to the Airport APBn office, officers conducted an interrogation and body search and recovered 98.7 grams of gold jewellery and a mobile phone from her possession.
In the third operation, M A Matin, 30, was detained after he was spotted loitering suspiciously on the paved road west of the roundabout at the airport's main entrance.
A body search following interrogation led to the recovery of 198.4 grams of gold jewellery and a mobile phone from his possession.
During interrogation, the detainees reportedly said the recovered gold jewellery had been brought into Bangladesh from various countries by unidentified passengers for smuggling. The detainees had allegedly been involved with airport-based gold-smuggling syndicates as receivers for a long time.
Three separate cases have been filed against the detainees with Airport Police Station.
Mohammad Nazir Ahmed Khan said Airport APBn continues to play an active role in preventing smuggling and curbing other crimes within the airport area.
“We are firmly committed to preventing all forms of illegal activities, including the smuggling of gold and narcotics. Our operations and intelligence activities to prevent smuggling through the airport will continue,” he said.
