Benapole Customs: Burglars loot 20kg gold from vault

Burglars looted around 20kg of gold, worth Tk 8.5 crore, from the vault of Benapole Customs House sometime during the three-day holiday that ended on Sunday.

Police and customs officials believe there was insider help, as no one was seen entering the four-storey building, although it is under constant CCTV surveillance.

The wires of two of the 20 cameras were cut.  

The theft came to light after staffers arrived at the office on Monday morning and found the collapsible gate of the vault broken, Samimur Rahman, deputy commissioner of Benapole Customs House, said. 

The criminals made away with 20 kgs gold kept in a vault of the first floor. They, however, did not take some gold and a huge amount of foreign and national currencies, he said.

Customs officials disclosed the matter last night.  

The building’s security guards claimed they were taking shelter inside as Cyclone Bulbul was ongoing at the time. 

Customs and police officials suspected the criminals used the cover of the storm to plan the burglary.   

Five officials, including vault in-charge Sahabul Sardar, was suspended over the incident. A nine-member committee led by the customs Joint Commissioner Shahidul Islam was formed to probe the theft.

Apart from the government officials, some outsourced workers had been working in the office over the years. 

Police picked up five persons -- the vault in-charge, three peons and a sepoy -- for interrogation. 

Different wings of law enforcement agencies have started investigating the theft.

The Criminal Investigation Department collected fingerprints from the vault. 

Though customs officials said criminals broke open the vault, Mamun Khan, officer-in-charge of Benapole Port police station, said they might have used alternative keys for opening the vault.

An investigation is going on, he said.