Economic Reporter :
The members of the Customs Intelligence and Dhaka customs House have been embarrassed as 14kg gold were seized by Airport Armed Police Battalion (APBn) from the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) area.
The APBn seized 14kg gold in paste form from the airport premises recently. Tipped off, officials detained after a Turkish Airlines flight landed at the airport from Dubai via Turkey around 5:30am on July 20.
The officials found the gold, in paste form, on them and the value of the gold is approximately Tk eight crore, according to the APBn. The detainees were carrying gold hiding in their different parts of bodies. The member of the APBn lodged a case against the detainees with the airport police station on July 21.
Allegation has been raised that as a main preventer of the gold smuggling in the airport, officers of the Customs Intelligence (CI) and Dhaka Customs House (DCH) can’t avoid their responsibility.
However, their weaknesses have been exposed from the incident, it is alleged.
Officials of the DCH and CI said that all intelligences agencies are working here to prevent gold smuggling. So, any institution can seize gold smugglers on the basis of secret information, though we are the main institutions to do it in the airport.
They also said being the Turkish Airlines a non-risky listed the officers were quite reluctant about the consignment.
But in absence of the other intelligences, the APBn invented the gold smuggling and tested the gold in the city’s Tanti Bazar, which were a mistake of the institution as the issue was very sensitive, they said.
After two weeks of the incident, the APBn deposited 16 gold bars in the warehouse of the Dhaka Customs House violating rules of the prevention.
For this reason, the APBn officer, led to detain the smuggling, has already been transferred after the incident.
Sakila Parvin, Joint Director of the Customs Intelligence, told The New Nation, “It is not right that we will be informed about all smugglings. Several intelligences are working in the airport. Any institution can seize on the basis of their information.” “However, APBn should have passed the information to us for better management of it,” she said.
Now, the APBn will have to take all responsibilities of mismanagement, she added. Ziaul Haque, Additional SP of the APBn, said it was necessary to make the pasted gold solid one to deposit in the warehouse and to file case against the smugglers.
