The suspects have been identified as Rabeya Begum, 48, Akash Ahmed, 35, and Mohammad Jalil, 46.

According to law enforcement officials, officers spotted the trio behaving suspiciously on the ground floor of the airport’s multi-storey car park at around 3:00 am. Sensing the presence of police personnel, the individuals attempted to flee the area. APBN officers acted swiftly, chasing down and detaining all three suspects before they could exit the airport premises.

A physical search of the detainees yielded 397.7 grams of 22-carat gold ornaments concealed on their persons, along with eight high-value mobile phones and three laptops. Police seized the items and subsequently filed a case against the suspects at the Airport Police Station under the relevant sections of the Special Powers Act, 1974, which carries stringent penalties for smuggling and tax evasion.

During initial questioning, the arrestees admitted that the seized goods were brought into Bangladesh through incoming international passengers to evade government duties and taxes. Investigators established that the trio belongs to an organised smuggling syndicate that has operated around the airport precinct for an extended period. The syndicate typically uses arriving passengers as couriers to transport high-value electronics and bullion past customs checks before handing them over to handlers waiting in the public parking facilities.

Confirming the operation, Mohammad Nazir Ahmed Khan, Superintendent of Police (Operations) for the 13 Airport Armed Police Battalion, reiterated the unit’s commitment to tackling airport crime. He emphasised that APBN remains vigilant in preventing contraband trafficking, particularly illegal gold and narcotics smuggling. He added that proactive security operations and surveillance measures across the airport grounds will continue unabated to dismantle active smuggling networks.