Customs intelligence officials recovered 50 gold bars weighing around 5.832 kilogrammes from the toilet of a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight arriving from Singapore at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Monday evening.

The Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID) conducted the operation based on information that more than 100 gold bars had been smuggled onto Biman flight BG-585, according to a press release.

The flight landed at the airport at around 6:30pm, following which CIID officials began a detailed search of the aircraft based on the intelligence information.

After nearly four hours of continuous searching, the officials found 50 gold bars concealed inside the aircraft’s toilet.

Each gold bar weighed 10 tolas, bringing the total weight to 500 tolas, or approximately 5.832 kilogrammes. The estimated market value of the recovered gold is around Tk11 crore.

The gold was not recovered from any passenger’s baggage. Instead, the bars were found concealed inside the aircraft’s toilet, raising questions about how they were brought onto the flight and who was behind the attempt to remove them from the airport.

The customs intelligence authorities are expected to investigate how the gold was placed inside the aircraft, identify those involved and determine whether an organised smuggling syndicate was behind the consignment.

The CIID said intelligence surveillance and operations against gold smuggling would continue to detect and seize larger consignments and bring those involved in such networks to justice.