The police have primarily established involvement of two assistant revenue officers and their associates at the Dhaka Customs House over the disappearance of about 55 kilogram of gold from a vault at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) in the capital.
A case has been filed against eight officers and security guards of Dhaka Customs House over the disappearance of about 55 kilogram of gold from a vault at HSIS in the capital. Dhaka Customs House filed the case with Airport Police Station early on Monday.
The individuals named in the complaint -- AROs Shahidul Islam, Akram Sheikh, Saidul Islam Shahed, and Masum Rana and guards Rezaul Karim, Mozammel Haq, Afzal Hossain, and Niamat Hawlader -- were in charge of the warehouse, Customs officials said.
The gold--bars and ornaments --might have been stolen from the vault of Dhaka Customs House from 2020 to August of 2023, said sources. The house also formed a five-member probe committee in this regard.
The Customs authorities stored the seized gold in two vaults of the airport. These contained 200kg of gold bars and ornaments.
Morshed Alam, Deputy Commissioner (Uttara Crime Division) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said that they were investigating the case.
False information has been given in the case filed in the case of theft of more than 55kg of gold from a locker in the warehouse of Customs House of HSIA. It is said in the case that it was stolen in one night. The CCTV camera at the gate of the warehouse broken down 4 months ago but has not been replaced or repaired. This information has been revealed by sources related to the investigation.
"After conducting a forensic investigation, police found no evidence of unauthorised entry into the godown and suggested that there might be involvement of insiders," said a senior police officer involved in the investigation. After the sensational theft, attempts have been made to hide the real criminals.
Customs officials at the scene first told cops that the thief might have entered the godown through a broken tin window of a toilet.
In fact, after moving gold for a long time, in order not to get caught in the audit, the drama of theft was arranged with the connivance of the Customs officials.
The stolen valuables were seized between 2020 and last month from people arriving at the airport with more gold than the law allows.
According to sources in the Customs, gold bars, jewelleries, and other illegally imported items are stored in two warehouses at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in the capital.
As per the Customs Act 1969, intelligence officers or law enforcers are required to submit seized gold bars or jewelleries to their nearest Customs house within 24 hours.
The Customs must deposit the gold permanently or temporarily to Bangladesh Bank within seven days, says the law.
"It seems the gold was stolen in phases. Usually, two AROs, each with a set of keys, are assigned to oversee these two godowns," according to sources.
On August 14, senior officials found six gold bars in a comparatively less secure place in a godown.
Officials then launched a thorough examination into the items that had arrived since 2020. Goldsmiths were called in to measure how much gold was there.
But in the early hours of Saturday, during the inventory examination, two AROs informed senior officials that a godown appeared to have been broken in, according to sources. Customs officers then contacted law enforcers.
"But it appeared that the tin was cut earlier. And it is not possible for someone to enter through the tiny space," the officer told The Daily Observer, adding that there was no security camera there.
"Customs personnel responsible for security could have been involved in the theft," said the officer, requesting anonymity.
Of the missing gold, around eight kg was seized on August 13 this year, and 47kg was seized at different times since 2020, they said.
