3 held with 74 bhori gold jewellery at airport

Airport Armed Police Battalion (APBn) detained three people with 861.8 grams of gold jewellery, equivalent to around 74 bhori, at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka late Thursday night.

The jewellery, made of 21- and 22-carat gold, was estimated to be worth Tk 1,36,86,160, according to APBn.

The detainees were identified as Md Nasir Molla, 40, Sohag Sheikh, 24, and Md Hasan Mia, 23. According to APBn, its personnel noticed the three behaving suspiciously on the footpath on the northern side of the airport roundabout late Thursday night.

When they sensed the presence of police, they allegedly attempted to leave discreetly. APBn personnel subsequently detained them.

A search of their bodies led to the recovery of the gold jewellery. During preliminary interrogation, the detainees reportedly told police that the jewellery had been brought into Bangladesh from different countries through unidentified passengers for smuggling. APBn said the three had allegedly been involved in gold smuggling at the airport for a long time.

A regular case was filed against them with Airport Police Station on Thursday.
According to the case statement, the three allegedly acted in collusion with one another and, with the assistance of unidentified passengers, brought the gold into Bangladesh illegally for smuggling while evading government revenue.

They allegedly kept the jewellery in their possession for that purpose.
Mohammad Rezaul Kabir, superintendent of police of Airport (13) APBn, said the force remained committed to maintaining security at the airport and preventing crime.

“We remain active and vigilant in preventing smuggling and controlling other crimes. Airport APBn is determined to prevent gold and drug smuggling, and our operations to stop any form of smuggling through the airport will continue,” he said.