Dhaka Customs House has seized 80 gold bars from under a seat on a Fly Dubai aircraft at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in the capital. The seized gold weighs a total of 9,331 grams, or about 9.33 kilograms, with an estimated market value of around 200 million taka.
The unclaimed gold was seized Wednesday (Sept. 2) night. According to Dhaka Customs House, officials learned around 9:15 p.m. that gold was being smuggled on Fly Dubai flight FZ-523, which had arrived at Shahjalal Airport.
Upon receiving the information, customs officials went to search the aircraft, which was empty of passengers at the time. Searching the plane in the presence of various intelligence agencies, they found several packets wrapped in black tape under seat 19A.
The packets were later taken to the customs hall and opened, revealing 80 gold bars. Each bar weighed 116.64 grams, for a total weight of 9,331 grams.
Customs officials said the gold bars had been very cleverly hidden beneath the seat. The recovered gold shipment was seized as unclaimed. Authorities are working to identify those involved and investigating their connection to the gold-smuggling operation.
The seized gold bars have been placed in the airport customs’ valuables warehouse. Under standard procedure, the process of depositing them with Bangladesh Bank is underway.
A criminal case has been filed at Airport police station over the incident. However, no suspects have been arrested so far.