About 8 kg gold bars seized at Bangladesh’s main airport

DHAKA, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) — Customs officials at Bangladesh’s main airport in Dhaka seized 74 gold bars weighing about 8 kg, from three passengers landed here by a local Regent Airways flight from Thailand, an official said Monday.
Acting on a tip-off, the customs official who declined to be unnamed, told Xinhua that they detained three persons with the gold bars worth about 37 million taka (about 456,790 U.S. dollars) on Sunday night.
He said the gold bars were found inside the handle of their trolley.
Coming from Bangkok via Bangladesh’s southeastern seaport city Chittagong, the flight landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka Sunday night.
Sources said organized gangs of local smugglers having link with their foreign sidekicks have been increasingly using Bangladesh as a transit for the illegal transportation of gold, foreign currencies, contraband drug and medicines. Enditem