International gold smugglers use Bangladesh as a transit country to smuggle the precious metal globally.
“An organized smuggling ring has been using Bangladeshi soil as a safe route to smuggle gold globally. RAB has been working to bring them to justice,” RAB official Lieutenant Colonel Anwar Uz Zaman said at a media briefing.
The media was organised to give details of the five gold smugglers who were held by Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) from the capital’s Gabtoli area on Wednesday afternoon.
Over 11 Kg gold (96 gold bars weighing 116 gram each) were seized from them, he said.
The arrested were identified as Md Rejaul, 35, Md Waliar, 50, Waliar Rahman, 50, Md Ohidul Islam, 34 and Md. Billal, 35. Ohidul is a resident of Jhikargacha, while the rest hails from Bandar Thana.
Zaman said, “They concealed gold in their shoes and were trying to smuggle those to Jashore’s Benapole.”
It can be mentioned here Bangladesh has land border with India at Benapole.
Elaborating the smuggling process, the RAB official said, “Usually gold are smuggled from the Middle East and taken to a hideout in Old Dhaka.”
Special shoes are used to carry the gold and the carriers can carry 10 bars in each shoe, the elite force commander added.
He said gold are usually smuggled to India from Bangladesh.
The arrestees are members of a carrier group and it is led by Md Waliar who has been smuggling gold for the past six months, Zaman said.
They carry 7 to 8 consignments every month and get Tk 7000 for each trip.
“They couldn’t name the mastermind, whom we are trying to track down,” he said.
Responding to a query, RAB-2 CO said, “Illegal gold traders of Old Dhaka are involved with this smuggling ring.”