Customs nab 'gold smuggler' with Saudi Riyals

Customs Intelligence (CI) officials arrested one passenger - Md Sobhan Sheikh - with foreign currency at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) in the capital on Sunday midnight. The arrested person, having passport no-BQ0261478, lives at Srinagar upazila of Munshiganj. He went to Malaysia on January 25 and returned on January 28. He was challenged by CI officials while crossing the airport's green channel after completing the immigration procedures. The officials recovered Saudi Riyals amounting to 3,27,000 (equivalent to over Tk seven million) from his body and shoes. Sobhan Sheikh confessed to the officials that he illegally carried Saudi Riyals for purchasing gold, and was involved in gold smuggling four times in the past. He used to sell the gold to Minto Ghosh and Shahjahan at Tantibazar in the capital. He had travelled thrice on Dhaka-Kuala Lumpur route in this month and seven times last year. He was arrested under Customs and Money Laundering Prevention Act, as he violated foreign currency control and customs acts. — FE Report