12kg gold paste worth Tk24 crore seized at Dhaka airport

Photo: collected

Customs officials seized 12kg of gold paste worth an estimated Tk24 crore from two passengers arriving from Dubai at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on Wednesday.

The passengers, identified as Chen Liyun and Mo Xiaoyu, had concealed the gold paste in their jeans and underwear. Preliminary tests confirmed that the material contained 24-carat gold, according to customs officials.

Dhaka Customs House said its preventive team stepped up surveillance at different points across the airport after receiving a tip-off that gold might be smuggled into the country on Emirates flight EK586 from Dubai.

The team intercepted the two passengers after they had completed immigration formalities and reached baggage carousel-2.

During searches, officials found soft, yellow-coloured gold paste hidden inside their clothing and stitched into fabric.

The seized paste weighed 12kg in its wet state and had an estimated market value of Tk24 crore, the customs authorities said.