1,340 tolas of gold seized, 5 arrested in capital

Above, five members of a gold smuggling ring who were arrested by Rapid Action Battalion in the capital yesterday. Left, 134 gold bars weighing around 1,340 tolas which were seized from them. Photo: Banglar Chokh

Rapid Action Battalion arrested five people, including an Indian, with 134 gold bars weighing 1,340 tolas worth around Tk 5.14 crore in the capital yesterday.
The arrestees are Mohammad Ali, 48, a leader of a gold smuggling ring; Hossain Askar alias Labu, 36; Ahmed Jamil alias Tuki, the Indian; Kamrul Hasan, junior security officer at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, 44; and Abu Jafar, 46.
The gold bars had been smuggled into Bangladesh through a Bangladesh airlines flight from Hong Kong that landed Tuesday midnight, Rab said.
Tuki used to smuggle gold into Bangladesh from abroad, said Habibur Rahman, media wing director of Rab, at a press briefing at its headquarters.

A Rab-1 team arrested Ali at his Uttara Sector No-9 house around 4:00am, said the Rab official.
Based on Ali's information, the team held Labu with the smuggled gold bars in Moghbazar area.
The other three were arrested at the airport.