55.5kg gold theft: Police suspect customs officials
The valuables, reported to have been stolen from the customs warehouse on Sunday, had been seized from passengers between 2020 and last month
Some customs officials might be involved in the theft of 55.5 kilograms of gold bars and jewellery worth around Tk47 crore from a customs warehouse at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, police suspect.
A senior police official closely associated with the investigation disclosed to The Business Standard that the "the broken locker" was a plot to divert the motive of the theft.
"The 55.51 kg gold was stolen from the customs warehouse at different times prior to the theft being reported. Following a thorough forensic examination, no evidence of unauthorised entry into the warehouse was discovered, leading the police to suspect potential insider involvement," said the official seeking anonymity.
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According to sources within the customs, gold bars, jewellery, and other illegally imported items are stored in two warehouses at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.
The valuables, reported to have been stolen from the customs warehouse on Sunday, had been seized from passengers between 2020 and last month who were attempting to bring more gold than legally allowed into the country, they added.
AKM Nurul Huda Azad, the customs commissioner, said one of the warehouses was supposed to contain 200 kg of gold, but during an inventory check on Saturday, only approximately 145 kg were found.
Azad added that the warehouse contains multiple lockers, but gold was stolen from a single locker.
"These thefts occurred between 2020 and 2023. I initiated the process of automating our warehouses. Meanwhile, these incidents have left me deeply ashamed and embarrassed."
"The warehouse's automation project commenced eight days ago. As part of this initiative, counting of the gold bars and jewellery within the warehouse began. The thefts had occurred prior to the automation process, and the drama of the locker break-in was staged to divert attention and hide the true motives behind the theft," said Azad.
In response to the theft, a case has been filed with the Airport police station, implicating unknown individuals, as confirmed by Md Tohidul Islam, additional deputy commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP)'s Airport zone.
Mohammad Sohrab Hossain, assistant revenue officer of the Custom House Dhaka, filed the case on Sunday night.
The first information report (FIR), however, states that individuals who were responsible for overseeing the warehouse – assistant revenue officers Shahidul Islam, Akram Sheikh, Saidul Islam Shahed, and Masum Rana, as well as guards Rezaul Karim, Mozammel Haq, Afzal Hossain, and Niamat Hawlader – were inquired by the investigators about the incident but they could not provide any satisfactory answers.
Syed Mukaddes Hossain, deputy commissioner at Dhaka Customs House, said the on-duty official had left his station at night after ensuring all security measures were in place. However, upon returning the following morning, on Friday, he discovered that the steel almirah lock was tampered with. He immediately alerted senior officials, and a team, including Syed Mukaddes, went to the scene.
After conducting a thorough inventory check, officials became convinced that a burglary had indeed taken place, added Mukaddes.
Notably, the warehouse is continuously monitored by CCTV cameras, with customs officials themselves responsible for overseeing security protocols and maintaining surveillance.
