Aslam Sheikh, 35, is an employee of the Civil Aviation Authority, Bangladesh.
Armed Police Battalion (APBn) ASP Md Al Amin said Sheikh returned from Cairo on Saturday morning on a Turkish Airways flight.
"We found 18 gold bars, each weighing 100gm, on him," Amin said.
The seized gold has an estimated market value of around Tk 8 million.
It is not clear whether Sheikh was part of a smuggling racket. He went to Egypt on July 5.
There has been a spurt in gold smuggling in recent months for yet unknown reasons.
Both international airports in Dhaka and Chittagong have reported regular gold hauls over the past months.