Pilgrimage guide nabbed with nearly 680g gold at airport

Police seize Tk 77,000 in cash and 16,125 Saudi riyals from the detainee

Members of the Armed Police Battalion (APBn) have detained a man at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport with 676.28g of gold ornaments.

The man, identified as Gias Uddin, 46, was detained on Wednesday while returning to Bangladesh after performing Umrah, APBn said in a media statement.

Police said Gias worked as a guide, accompanying Hajj or Umrah pilgrims and assisting them throughout their pilgrimage.

According to the statement, around 11:15am, APBn members found his movements suspicious in the airport’s arrival canopy and took him to their office for questioning.

During interrogation and a body search, police recovered 676.28g of gold ornaments from a bag hanging around his neck.

They also seized Tk 77,000 in cash and 16,125 Saudi riyals.

The recovered gold ornaments were of 21-carat purity, police said.

During questioning, Gias reportedly admitted that he had brought the gold into Bangladesh through several Umrah pilgrims to evade customs duty.

APBn claimed the detainee was involved with an active gold smuggling ring operating at the airport and had been working as a “receiver” for the group.

A case has been filed against him with the airport police station, according to the statement.