Man held at Dhaka airport with gold worth 1.6C

A passenger was detained by customs officials at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka in the early hours of Friday for allegedly attempting to smuggle in two gold bars worth Tk1.6 crore.

The detainee has been identified as Jashim Mia, a resident of Narsingdi.

Acting on a tip-off, a team from the Dhaka Customs House intercepted Jashim at Dhaka airport upon his arrival from Jeddah at around 2:45am on Friday.

The customs team challenged Jashim as he was passing through the green channel at around 4:30am. "The two gold bars worth Tk1.6 crore were recovered from a flower pot that he was carrying," an official said.

The gold bars have been seized and submitted to the national reserve, while the passenger has been handed over to police. "A criminal case has been filed against the accused at the local police station," the official said.