B Mirror Report: Customs authorities seized gold, foreign cigarettes, prohibited Gauri cream and foreign liquor worth around Tk 2.44 crore in separate operations at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Friday.

According to the National Board of Revenue (NBR), Dhaka Customs and the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate conducted the separate operations on October 2.

In one operation, customs officials recovered nine gold bars worth around Tk 2.10 crore from a Bangladesh Biman Airlines employee. The bars weighed 1,049.40 grammes and were allegedly concealed in tissue paper inside the employee’s shirt pockets and waist belt.

The employee, Obaidur Rahman, was searched with assistance from AVSEC and in the presence of representatives of various intelligence agencies, customs officials said.

In a separate operation, customs intelligence officials searched the baggage of five passengers arriving on SriLankan Airlines flight UL189 from Colombo. They recovered 595 cartons of foreign cigarettes and 24.2kg of prohibited Gauri cream, with an estimated market value of Tk 33.62 lakh.

In another operation, officials recovered 10 litres of Black Label foreign liquor from passenger Mubarak Hossain, who arrived from Mumbai on Air India’s AI2183 flight.

Customs authorities said the separate operations resulted in the seizure of the gold, cigarettes, prohibited cream and liquor, and that further legal action would follow.