Man held with 2.4 kg of gold as customs bust 'novel' smuggling attempt at Dhaka airport

A passenger arriving from Dubai via Sylhet is caught carrying gold melted into a paste and hidden inside his clothing

Authorities have detained a passenger at Dhaka's Shahjalal International Airport after he was caught smuggling 2.4 kg of gold melted and concealed in his clothing.

The passenger arrived at Shahjalal Airport at around 11:15am on Friday on a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight from Dubai via Sylhet, according to Barun Das, preventive officer of the Customs House Dhaka.

The seized gold is estimated to be worth around Tk 50 million.

Based on a tip-off that the passenger might be carrying gold melted into a paste and hidden inside his clothing, customs officials inspected him. When they handled his garments, they noticed an unusual heaviness.

Officials recovered four pairs of underwear, a pair of trousers, and three T-shirts. They burnt and chemically treated the clothing to extract a powdery gold-like substance, which initially weighed 2,560 grams.

Following further chemical processing with nitric acid and other substances, the powder was refined into five solid 24-carat gold bars along with some residual gold dust, totalling 2.417 kg.

Tests using acid and touchstone methods confirmed the substance was gold. A preliminary certificate was issued by a goldsmith and the gold has since been deposited in the Customs House warehouse.

A criminal case has also been filed against the detained passenger at the Airport Police Station, Barun added.