A Dhaka court on Monday placed a 43-year-old Malaysian citizen, Yeoh Don Seu, on a six-day remand for interrogation in connection with the seizure of four and a half kilogrammes of gold at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA).
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Ripon Hossain passed the order following a remand application submitted by the investigation officer of the case. Sub-Inspector Abu Bakar Siddique of the Prosecution Division confirmed the remand decision.
Earlier, law enforcement arrested Yeoh Don Seu at the airport at around 4am on Sunday and recovered nine gold bars valued at approximately Tk7.95 crore from his possession.
According to the Public Relations division of the National Board of Revenue (NBR), the suspect arrived in Dhaka from Kuala Lumpur aboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH-0196 carrying the gold.
Dhaka Customs House authorities detained him after finding nine gold bars, comprising four weighing one kilogramme each and five weighing 100 grammes each- with a total weight of 4.5 kilogrammes.
The NBR said that the suspect was placed under surveillance immediately after the aircraft landed. He was intercepted and searched while crossing Green Channel-1 after collecting his baggage from the belt, leading to the discovery of the gold bars.
The 24-carat pure gold bars, with an estimated market value of around Tk8 crore, were found wrapped in a black cloth belt concealed beneath his shirt.
Following the seizure, Moniruzzaman, Assistant Revenue Officer of Customs Preventive at Dhaka Customs House, filed a case under the Special Powers Act at Airport Police Station on Sunday.
On Monday, the case investigation officer, Sub-Inspector Mahbub Hossain of Airport Police Station, produced the suspect before the court and sought a 10-day remand.
During the hearing, Yeoh Don Seu had no defence lawyer representing him. The magistrate asked him in English whether he could speak the language, to which Yeoh Don replied, “Yes”.
When asked about his profession, he informed the court that he had no job and was seeking employment. Asked whether he had anything to say regarding the police remand prayer, Yeoh Don replied, “No”.
The court subsequently granted a six-day police remand for his questioning. Upon being informed that he had been placed on a six-day remand, Yeoh Don reacted, saying, “No, no”.
