Dhaka:Customs officials have intercepted diamond-studded gold and platinum jewellery, precious stones, and other items valued at approximately Tk 2.70 crore from a passenger arriving at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport from Kolkata.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the Dhaka Customs House confiscated the items from passenger Md Jony Rahman after detecting suspicious metal objects inside a pickle jar during baggage scanning at the airport around 830 pm yesterday.
The operation was carried out by the preventive team and officials on duty during the airport's C shift, based on a tip-off that gold might be smuggled on Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight BG 396 from Kolkata. The passenger completed immigration formalities and attempted to pass through the green channel without making a baggage declaration.
Upon further inspection, customs officials recovered 389 diamond-studded gold rings weighing 478 grams, 151 diamond-studded platinum rings weighing 450 grams, three diamond-studded white gold items weighing six grams, two diamond-studded silver rings weighing eight grams, five diamond-studded gold lockets weighing four grams, one diamond-studded gold chain weighing five grams, and 472 diamond-studded gold nose pins weighing 103 grams.
Additionally, the seized items included 45 carats of diamonds of various sizes, 720 pieces of topaz, ruby, and other stones, along with 23 jewellery certificate cards, as stated in an NBR press release. The total weight of the seized items was reported to be 1,054 grams, excluding the separately measured carat weight of the diamonds.
A criminal case has been filed by the Dhaka Customs House preventive team against the passenger with the relevant police station in connection to the incident.