4.5kg of gold strapped to body in a belt, Malaysian passenger held at Shahjalal
Photo: Collected
Dhaka Customs House has recovered 4.5 kilograms of gold from a Malaysian national who arrived on a Malaysia Airlines flight at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. The estimated value of the recovered gold is about Tk 8 crore.
The customs authorities said that, on the basis of information from an intelligence agency, Mr Yang Don Siew, 43, a passenger arriving today on Malaysia Airlines’ Dhaka-bound flight MH-0196 from Kuala Lumpur, was kept under surveillance. He was kept under watch from the moment he got off the plane after the flight landed in Dhaka. Later, when the passengers collected their baggage from the belt and were passing through Green Channel-1, he was separated and searched. During the search in the presence of the intelligence agency, the gold bars were recovered from his body at around 1:45am.
Customs said a total of nine gold bars – four weighing one kilogram each and five weighing 100 grams each – have been recovered. The gold bars are of 24-carat purity. The passenger was carrying them in a novel way, wrapped in a black cloth belt and hidden under his shirt.
The authorities further said the passenger made no baggage declaration and could not show any papers or documents regarding the recovered gold as per the ‘Customs Act 2023’ and the ‘Foreign Exchange Control Act, 1947’. With a view to completing legal proceedings, the gold has been temporarily detained under section 191 of the ‘Customs Act 2023’. The process of filing a criminal case under the relevant law against the accused passenger with the Airport Police Station is under way.
The activities of the Customs House, Dhaka and the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport authorities are continuing to prevent illegal gold smuggling and protect the national interest.
