Yet another gold seizure

Seven kilograms of contraband gold has been seized from a passenger at Shahjalal international airport in Dhaka.

Customs joint commissioner Qazi Mohammed Ziauddin told bdnews24.com that Farid Matbor, 30, arrived from Kuala Lumpur on a Malaysian Airlines flight on Sunday around 10pm.

He was nabbed around 11.45pm when passing through the green channel without declaring the gold in his possession.

"The gold bars and ornaments were concealed in his shoes. They had been held together by tapes," Ziauddin said.

A case is being filed against him soon.

Ziauddin said the gold seized from Farid was valued at around TK 4 million.

Gold traficking in Bangladesh has been on the rise , primarily because the country has emerged as a conduit for smuggling the yellow metal into India .

The demand for gold in India is insatiable but higher duties imposed by the government to prevent outgo of foreign exchange has fuelled smuggling through Bangladesh.

Huge quantities have been seized at airports in both Bangladesh and India in recent months.