Two including private airline driver detained with 40 gold bars

Two people, including a private airline driver, have been detained along with 40 pieces of gold bars at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA).

They were identified as Md Helal (51), a Novoair driver, hailing from Noakhali, and Kamal Hossain (29), from Chandpur.

The duo was nabbed by officials of Airport Armed Police Battalion (APBn) and National Security Intelligence on Saturday.

Confirming this, Airport Armed Police Battalion’s Additional Superintendent of Police Mohammad Ziaul Haque Zia told the FE that the intelligence unit of APBn had been working to prevent gold smuggling at the HSIA for so long. As part of this, Md Helal was kept under surveillance by Airport Armed Police Battalion and NSI.

As Md Helal got into a CNG with an accomplice from the domestic terminal driveway, the APBN intelligence unit intercepted them in front of the mural of Bangabandhu and brought them to the APBN office, he said.

They interrogated the detained and found 40 gold bars wrapped in black scotch tape inside a bag of Kamal Hossain’s. The seized gold bars weigh around 4.64 kg and the market price is around Tk 50 million, Mr Zia said.

Detained Kamal confessed to the APBN that Novoair driver Helal had given him the gold bars to deliver to a particular place in exchange for Tk 10,000. However, both were detained before the delivery could be completed, according to the Airport APBn official.

A case is underway with the HSIA Police Station.