Customs officials at Chattogram’s Shah Amanat International Airport confiscated 2.33 kilogrammes of gold bars from beneath a seat on a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight on Thursday morning, leading to the aircraft’s seizure later in the day.

This marks the first time an aircraft has been seized at Shah Amanat International Airport. A similar case, however, occurred a decade ago in Dhaka, where two planes were impounded for carrying smuggled gold.

The flight, which had arrived from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), was en route to Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport after dropping off passengers in Chattogram.

Customs officials discovered 20 gold bars, worth approximately Tk2.60 crore, hidden under seat 9J during an inspection.

The passenger occupying seat 9J, identified as Atia Samiya from Rajshahi, was arrested in connection with the smuggling.

Samiya, a sales assistant at a UAE-based store called ‘Ocean Gold and Diamond Jewelry,’ was reportedly involved in online gold sales in Bangladesh.

The gold bars, wrapped in plastic tape, were hidden in a manner suggesting collusion with flight crew members.

“Bringing in such a consignment without the assistance of flight personnel is unlikely,” said Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID) Additional Director General Mohammad Minhaz Uddin.

He confirmed that the flight captain and crew would be interrogated as part of the investigation.

The seized Boeing 777-ER, valued at Tk1,000 crore, was handed over to the Chattogram Customs Authority for further legal action. While the aircraft remained in CIID custody, officials stated that it could be released for passenger operations pending judicial approval to minimise disruption to services.

“The seizure serves as a warning to other operators to refrain from facilitating such illegal activities,” said Minhaz Uddin.

Officials noted that arresting a female carrier involved in gold smuggling is rare. Samiya’s dual roles as a sales assistant and online trader underscore the sophisticated networks often employed in such operations.

The CIID emphasised that both Biman Bangladesh Airlines and its personnel could face accountability for their potential involvement.