APBn detains Biman staff with 68 gold bars at HASIA

Airport Armed Police Battalion (APBn) detained a Biman Bangladesh Airlines staff and recovered 68 gold bars weighing around 8 kg at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Sunday.

The detainee is identified as Shafiqul Islam, 33, a resident in Daulatpur area of Khulna, according to a handout of the APBn.

Additional Superintendent of Police of Airport Armed Police (AAP) Mohammad Ziaul Haque said they detained Shafiqul Islam with the gold bars stashed around his waist around 10 pm on Sunday.

A Boeing 777 flight landed at the airport around 7:30 pm from Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur.

When all the cleaning staffers and maintenance officials left the aircraft, Shafiqul went inside it around 10 pm and his movement appeared suspicious to a team of APBn agents, ASP Ziaul said.

APBn found the gold bars after searching him in the presence of other law enforcers, the ASP said.

During interrogation, he didn’t give any clear answer about the source of the gold and its destination, he added.

According to the APBn, the market value of recovered gold is around Tk7.80 crore.

A step is underway to file a case against him, the APBn official said.