Staff Reporter :
Eight employees of US-Bangla Airlines have been arrested at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka with 60 gold bars weighing seven kilograms.
The Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate arrested them on charge of gold smuggling from a flight of US-Bangla Airlines coming from Dubai on Tuesday morning.
The arrested were Ali Reza, Saddam Hossain, Rashedul Islam, Abdur Razzak, Ashraful Alam, Abu Saleh, Hanif Dewan and Zahedur Rahman, said Customs Intelligence additional deputy director general Niazur Rahman.
The arrested employees were handed over to the Airport police and two separate cases would be filed against them, he said.
The gold bars weighing seven kilograms were seized from the leftover box of the vehicle supplying food to US Bangla Airlines passengers at 7:00 am.
Members of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate said that the US-Bangla Airlines flight BS-342 from Dubai landed at Shahjalal International Airport at 7:00am. The leftover food boxes of the passengers were put into the vehicle. Gold bars weighing about 7 kilograms were seized from the boxes after searching the vehicle.
Customs sources said the seized gold bars would be valued at Tk 4-5 crore. Eight US-Bangla Airlines employees arrested in were being questioned.
Meanwhile, Niazur Rahman Khan, Additional Director General of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate said the raid was carried out after suspecting that employees of the US Bangla Catering Service involved in gold smuggling for a long time.
Monirul Islam, an assistant revenue officer engaged in the operation, said the US-Bangla aircraft might be seized.
