CIID seizes Tk1.13cr worth of gold, smartphones, goods at Dhaka airport

The Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID) seized 471 grammes of gold bars, 35 smartphones and other goods worth around Tk1.13 crore in three separate operations at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Thursday.

The seizures were made during the operations conducted by the CIID’s A-shift team, following increased vigilance against smuggling and customs duty evasion through passenger baggage, according to a press release issued on Friday (13 November).

In one operation, 171 grammes of gold bars, along with cosmetics, food items and medicines, were recovered from the baggage of passenger Md Abul Hossain, who arrived in Dhaka from Bangkok on a US-Bangla Airlines flight.

The seized goods were estimated to be worth Tk35.70 lakh.

In another drive, customs officials recovered 300 grammes of gold bars, 35 smartphones of Samsung, Honor and Realme brands, 36 kg of soap and 6.375 kg of cosmetics from the baggage of passenger Shah Alam Aziz.

He arrived from Bangkok on a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight.

After allowing 100 grammes of gold under passenger baggage facilities, subject to payment of applicable duties and taxes and the required passport endorsement, officials seized the remaining excess gold and other goods.

The seized items were valued at around Tk55.30 lakh.

In a separate search of the baggage of another passenger, Umma Hani, arriving on the same Biman flight, officials found 200 grammes of gold bars and 40.48 kg of soap.

After allowing 100 grammes of gold under baggage facilities, the customs officials seized the remaining gold and excess goods, valued at approximately Tk21.77 lakh.

Read More

Two RMG exporters' revenue evasion worth Tk1.5cr caught by Customs

The CIID has raised concerns over a possible shift in airport smuggling tactics, with smugglers increasingly attempting to bring gold and smartphones into the country in smaller consignments to evade detection.

The directorate warned that the growing frequency of such attempts could cause significant cumulative revenue losses, despite the relatively small size of individual shipments.

It is investigating possible links between the incidents and organised smuggling networks while stepping up intelligence surveillance and enforcement operations to detect emerging tactics and safeguard government revenue.