By: Siam Sarower Jamil,
Dhaka, Aug 6: Customs officials at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport have busted a 25kg illegal gold consignment from a man who arrived from Singapore on a wheelchair. The seized 250 gold bars are worth about Tk12.5 crore. The detained Jamil Akter, 48, is a Nilphamari native, flew here on a Singapore Airlines flight around 10:30pm Saturday. This is the largest gold haul of the year. Last year, another passenger on wheelchair was caught with 23kg gold. “Acting on a tip-off, our team confronted the man when he was crossing the green channel on a wheelchair, pretending to be unwell,” Dhaka Customs House Preventive Team Assistant Commissioner Ahsanul Kabir said. “He denied having any gold initially, but admitted to it later, during interrogation. We found 250 gold bars in a vest kept between his legs. “The man has a chips shop in Singapore. He went in and out of the country 13 times in the last six months,” the customs official added. Customs officials were preparing to hand over him to police after filing a criminal case. Another team found six kg gold abandoned in a flight of US-Bangla Airlines.