37kg gold found in aircraft

"> Customs officials of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport seized 320 gold bars weighing around 37kg from under passenger seats of a Qatar Airways flight in the capital yesterday. No one was arrested in this connection. Photo: Banglar ChokhCustoms officials at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport seized 320 gold bars weighing around 37 kilograms from a Qatar Airways flight yesterday morning.
The flight from Doha landed at the airport around 5:00am. After all passengers got down from the aircraft, a cabin crew found some packets wrapped in clothes and black tape under passenger seats.
Suspecting those as bombs, the crew informed the authorities concerned of the matter, said Alamgir Hossain Shimul, senior assistant superintendent of Airport Armed Police Battalion (APBn).
On information, customs and APBn officials went to the spot around 6:00am and recovered the gold bars weighing around 37 kgs, he said.
The market value of the bars was about Tk 15 crore, said Madhab Bikash Dev Roy, assistant commissioner of airport customs.
No one was arrested in connection with the seizure, Alamgir said.
Seizure of smuggle gold bars from inbound flights is being reported frequently in recent days.
On October 29, custom officials recovered 170 gold bars weighing around 20 kgs from the toilet of a Bangladesh Airlines aircraft.
A total of 280 gold bars weighing around 33 kilograms were also recovered from a Dubai-based low-cost carrier on October 22.
On July 24, customs officials seized 1,064 gold bars weighing around 124 kgs, the biggest ever haul at the airport in 42 years, from luggage chamber of a Biman flight.
Customs officials recovered 25.3 kg gold bars from a Biman flight on July 6. These gold bars were found unattended and unclaimed.