Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID) claimed to have seized nearly 7.432kg of gold worth Tk5 crore from a passenger bus at South Keraniganj in the capital on Saturday.During a raid on a bus near Babu Bazar Bridge, CIID also detained 12 people, including three Indians, for their involvement in gold smuggling, Shafiqul Islam, revenue officer of the directorate, said.The identities of the detainees could not immediately be confirmed, Shafiqul added. "The details will be disclosed through a press briefing on Sunday. Read: Bangladesh gets Tk200 crore smuggled gold every day: BAJUS

Bangladesh Jeweller’s Association (BAJUS) in a meeting with Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) on Thursday claimed gold worth Tk200 crore is arriving in Bangladesh through smuggling every day. The BAJUS also proposed to BFIU forming a joint initiative to combat gold smugglers, who are also involved in money laundering. With BFIU chief Md Masud Biswas in the chair senior official of the financial intelligence and a 13-member delegation of BAJUS led by its president Sayem Sobhan, attended the meeting. In response to BAJUS delegation’s information and proposal, Masud assured to protect Bangladesh from the gold smugglers and strengthen the raid against gold smuggling in the country. Read: 56 gold bars seized at Chattogram airport The BAJUS leaders informed the meeting that the smuggling occurs by air, road, and waterways. As a result, Tk73000 crore worth of smuggled gold arrives in Bangladesh annually and most of it is smuggled out of the country. The BAJUS leaders presented seven recommendations to stop the smuggling of gold.

Customs officials on Saturday seized 56 gold bars weighing 6.5 kg from an aircraft of Biman Bangladesh Airlines at Chattogram Shah Amanat Airport. Taslim Ahmed, manager of Chattogram airport, said a flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines ‘BG-148’ landed at the airport from Dubai in the afternoon. Tipped off, a team of customs officials found the gold bars, wrapped in black scotch tape, from under a seat in an abandoned condition, said joint director of Chattogram Regional Custom Intelligence and Investigation Department Saifur Rahman. Read: Two brothers held with 10 gold bars in Benapole However, no one was arrested in connection with the recovery of the gold bars worth Tk 4.48 crore. A case has been filed with Patenga Police Station in this regard.

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) claimed to have detained an Indian truck driver with 50 gold bars weighing 3.48kg from the border area of Chapainawabganj's Shibganj Sunday.  The detainee was identified as Rentu Sheikh, 40, from Malda of India's West Bengal, Lieutenant Colonel Amir Hossain Mollah, BGB-59 battalion commanding officer, said. Acting on a tip-off, a BGB team searched Rentu's truck at the Panama Gate area of the Sonamasjid land port as it was heading back to India after unloading goods.   Read: Benapole man held with Tk2 crore gold bars at border "We found gold bars under the driver's seat. The truck has been seized and legal action will be taken against its driver," Amir said.

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) members seized USD 80,000 from Fulbari border in Damurhuda upazila of Chuadanga district  Wednesday morning while those were being smuggled to India. However, BGB couldn’t detain the suspected smuggler who was carrying the foreign currency. The information was revealed at a press briefing at 6 BGB Headquarters in the afternoon. According to BGB, upon secret information, they conducted a drive along Fulbari border and found a person trying to cross the border with a bag through pillar No 85. The person left the bag and fled when BGB members chased him. Read: Man held with $50,000 at Chuadanga The BGB men found eight bundles of US dollars amounting to USD 80,000 inside the bag. Lieutenant Colonel Shah Md Ishtiak, Director of BGB Chuadanga-6, said a case was filed with Darshana Police Station in this regard.   “Primarily, we’re suspected that the foreign currency was being smuggled from Bangladesh to India,” said Ishtiaque. 

Dhaka Customs House seized 8kg gold worth Tk6.5 crore from a Biman Flight Catering Centre (BFCC) staff at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in the capital Wednesday. Mohammad Abdul Aziz Akand was held with the precious yellow metal in front of the BFCC, Md Sanwarul Kabir, a deputy commissioner at Dhaka Customs House, said. Acting on a tip-off, Dhaka Customs House officials managed to seize the gold from Aziz at 8pm after waiting for seven hours to catch him, Sanwarul added. "The gold was smuggled into a Bangladesh Biman flight that returned from Dubai. Aziz was supposed to illegally transport it. A case will be filed against him," he said. Alsor read: 1 held with 124 gold bars worth Tk 10 cr in Jashore

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has seized smuggled goods, arms, ammunition and drugs worth Tk 87,96,86,000 during drives conducted in bordering and other areas in November. Seized narcotics and alcoholic beverages include 3.23kg of crystal methamphetamine, 13 lakh pieces of Yaba tablets, 24,550 bottles of phensedyl, foreign liquor, beer and weed, the BGB said in a statement Friday. Also read: BGB arrests smuggler with 1.4 kg gold Other seized items include 3.294 kg of gold, 44 kg of silver, cosmetics, imitation jewellry, sarees, wood, coal and 126 vehicles, as per the statement. BGB also seized 11 different types of guns and four Chinese axes. During the drives, BGB arrested 299 people for smuggling, and 126 Bangladeshis and nine Indians for illegally crossing the border. Also read: BGB recovers Tk 6 crore worth Yaba from Teknaf Legal action is underway against the arrestees, the BGB said.

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Tuesday said the government will take tougher steps to prevent illegal arms and drugs smuggling, and human trafficking along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border and warned of “firing shots”, if necessary. "There was a decision not to open fires along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border. But now, firing shots will be allowed (if necessary) to prevent illegal activities," he said. The Foreign Minister came up with the warning while talking to reporters at a function here. Also read: FM seeks Commonwealth solidarity for Rohingya repatriation Dr Momen said there has been a discussion with the Home Minister to take tough action to stop all kinds of smuggling along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border. "The Home Ministry will take a decision in this regard.” Two ambulances, gifted by the Indian government, were handed over to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College and Hospital. Earlier, a decision had been taken to stop firing along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border but illegal smuggling is still carried out along the border, said Momen. Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Vikram Kumar Doraiswami was present. Talking about the incomplete Sylhet Airport-Badaghat bypass, the Foreign Minister said the officials of Roads and Highways Department should quit their jobs for failing to complete the work. The construction work on the 12-km Sylhet Airport-Badaghat bypass started in 2010 during the tenure of former Finance Minister AMA Muhith. He also expressed dissatisfaction over the delay in implementing many development works and the negligence of the authorities concerned. Referring to the development work on Sylhet Specialized Mother and Child Hospital, Momen slammed the authorities concerned for failing to upgrade the hospital to a 200-bed one hospital from the existing 100-bed hospital. An amount of Tk 110 crore had been allocated for the development of the hospital but the authorities concerned spent only Tk 10 crore and returned the rest of the amount without upgrading it. Also read: Rohingya children must be educated in their own language: FM "They’ve just wasted the money allocated for the health sector of Sylhet and it happened just due to negligence of the authorities concerned,” he said. Referring to the six-lane work of the Dhaka-Sylhet highway, Momen said the work has been divided into 13 sections and tenders for that of eight sections have been floated. "The work on the Sylhet portion is being delayed due to the complexity in land acquisition," he said, hoping that the work would begin soon.

In a drive against human trafficking Rab have arrested three members of gang from Dhaka city, Satkhira and Madaripur districts after wide media coverage of the smuggling of a woman and her teenaged daughter to India. The drive, conducted from Sunday night to Monday morning, came amid reports of growing incidents of trafficking people luring them with jobs abroad, a Rab officer said. According to Rab the gang members were involved in the trafficking of a 17-year-old girl in last January promising her a job in an Indian parlour. Later the girl’s mother was also trafficked. Also read: Human trafficking ring busted in Natore, 2 held They both have been rescued and repatriated to Bangladesh.   The arrestees were identified as Kallu Shohagh alias Kallu Nagin Shohag alias Kallu, 40, ringleader of Kala-Nagin syndicate and son of Matiur Rahman of Madaripur district, Mohammad Shohagh alias Shohagh alias Nagin Shohagh, 32, son of Kabir Hossain of Dhaka’s Pallabi area and Billal Hossain, 41, son of Akimuddin Morol of Satkhira district. Tipped off, a team of Rab-4 conducted the simultaneous drive and arrested them from Madaripur’s Shibchar upazila, Satkhira’s Debhata upazila and Pallabi area of the capital, said ASP Imran Khan of Rab Headquarters (media). After interrogation, Rab came to know that the syndicate members have long been involved in trafficking women and young girls to India with a promise of lucrative jobs there. Some 20-25 members were involved in the gang and Billal used to work as the agent of the gang along the bordering Satkhira district, said Rab. Also read: Rab arrests seven members of an alleged human trafficking gang The syndicate members are active in Mirpur, Tejgaon and Gazipur district. In the wake of the alleged fraud, cases have been filed by relatives of the victims in Bangladesh at various times. Complaints have also been received from several families who have gone missing at different times. Accordingly, RAB has intensified its intelligence surveillance. Rab launched an investigation on trafficking of women to India and over the recent alleged rape and torture of a Bangladeshi woman by fellow Bangladeshis there.

A passenger was detained by Customs officials at Dhaka international airport in the early hours of Friday for allegedly attempting to smuggle in two gold bars of 1.6kg, worth Tk1.06 crore. The detainee has been identified as Jashim Mia, a resident of Narsingdi district. Acting on a tip-off, a team from the Dhaka Customs House intercepted Jashim at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport upon his arrival from Jeddah around 2.45am on Friday. Also read: Man held with 20 gold bars in Jashore The Customs team challenged Jashim as he was passing through the green channel around 4.30 am. "The two gold bars weighing about 1.6kg were recovered from a flower pot that he was carrying," Deputy Commissioner of the Dhaka Customs House (preventive team) Mohammad Abdus Sadek said. The gold bars worth Tk1.06 crore have been seized and submitted to the national reserve, while the passenger was handed over to the police. "A a criminal case has been filed against the accused at the local police station," he added. Also read: Dubai passenger held with gold bars at Sylhet airport