Dhaka: Two individuals were detained with 475.6 grams of gold at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Tuesday, as reported by the Airport Armed Police Battalion (APBN).
According to United News of Bangladesh, the individuals, identified as Khairul Hasan Akon, 29, and Sheikh Ariful Islam, 46, were observed behaving suspiciously on the ground floor of the airport’s multi-storey car park around 9:45 am. When they attempted to flee upon noticing the police presence, members of the Airport APBN apprehended them.
Upon searching the detainees, the police recovered the gold, which was confirmed to be of 21-carat purity. The value of the recovered gold is estimated at Tk 75.62 lakh, as stated by the APBN.
During initial questioning, the detainees allegedly confessed that the gold ornaments had been brought into Bangladesh from various countries via passengers for smuggling purposes. Police indicated that the two individuals have been involved in gold smuggling at the airport for an extended period.
A case has been filed against them at the Airport Police Station. Mohammad Nazir Ahmed Khan, the police superintendent for operations of Airport APBN, emphasized the unit’s ongoing efforts to curb smuggling and related crimes in the airport vicinity. “Airport APBN is determined to prevent gold and drug smuggling. Our operations will continue to stop any form of smuggling using the airport,” he stated.