12 held with 637 bhori gold in Keraniganj

The Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID) on Saturday arrested 12 people, including three Indians, with 637 bhoris of gold worth around Tk 5 crore at Dakkhin Keraniganj in Dhaka district.

Acting on a tip-off, a team of CIID with the help of local police intercepted two Darshana-bound buses — Royal Paribahan and Purbasha Paribahan — around 3am, said CIID Deputy Director Sanjida Khanam.

Initially, they searched the buses and suspected passengers for gold bars but could not trace those. 

Later, the suspected passengers were taken to a nearby hospital where their bodies and luggage were scanned, Sanjida said, adding that they found gold bars concealed in the rectum of five people and the luggage of seven others.

The arrested individuals could not show any valid documents for the import or purchase of the gold bars, the CIID official added.

According to the passports of the arrestees, they were identified as Rahat Khan, 33, Mohsin Al Mahmud, 29, Kazi Mamun, 34, Syed Amir Hossain, 34, Shamim, 23, Mamun, 37, Bashir Ahmed Kamal, 37, Mamun Sarker, 37, Atiqur Rahman Meena, 42, and three Indians — Nabi Hossain, 46, Shahjada, 47, and Mohammad Imran, 37.