Court Sends Two Chinese Nationals Held With 12kg Gold Paste at Shahjalal to Jail
A court has ordered two Chinese nationals to be sent to jail over allegations that they carried 12 kilograms of gold paste hidden in their underwear in a special technique after arriving in Dhaka from Dubai. They are Chen Liun and Mo Xiaoyu.
On Thursday (5 November), police produced them before Dhaka's Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court at the end of a seven-day remand. The investigation officer, Airport Police Station Sub-Inspector Md Majedul Islam, applied to keep them in jail until the investigation is completed.
Metropolitan Magistrate Monirul Islam's court in Dhaka ordered them to be sent to jail in response to the application. Prosecution Sub-Inspector Md Saiful Islam confirmed the information.
Earlier, on 29 October, the court had granted them a seven-day remand.
According to the case statement, at around 6pm on 28 October the two passengers arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka from Dubai on Emirates flight EK586. As they crossed the green channel without giving any baggage declaration, the Customs Shift-A and Preventive Team questioned them.
A search then found a soft yellow paste-like substance hidden in a special technique, sewn with black cloth inside their jeans trousers and underwear. The substances were recovered by cutting the relevant clothing. An initial test through a goldsmith confirmed the substances were 24-carat gold.
The statement said approximately 6 kilograms of gold paste was recovered from each of the two accused, 12 kilograms in total. However, the purity of the gold has not been confirmed through chemical testing. Two mobile phones, the trousers they were wearing, underwear, Scotch tape and other evidence were seized from them in the incident.
Customs House Assistant Revenue Officer (Preventive) Jamil Sarwar Ahad filed a case at Airport Police Station under the relevant section of the Special Powers Act, 1974, over the alleged gold smuggling.
