Bangladesh Court Sentences Two Men to 14 Years for Gold Smuggling

A Chittagong court on Wednesday sentenced two men to 14 years in prison for attempting to smuggle four gold bars from Chittagong to Dhaka eight years ago.

Judge Afroza Jasmin Koli of the Fourth Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court of Chittagong delivered the verdict.

Court Bench Assistant Naeem Hossain confirmed that the judge sentenced both defendants—Md. Arif, 34, and Md. Rubel, 31—to 14 years of rigorous imprisonment. The court also imposed a fine of 10,000 BDT ($83 USD) on each convict, with an additional three-month prison sentence if unpaid.

Both defendants were present in court during the verdict and were subsequently sent to prison.

Arif and Rubel, both originally from Chandpur district, were residing in the Nupur Market area of Chittagong's Kotwali neighborhood at the time of their arrest.

According to case files, police conducted a targeted raid on March 27, 2018, near the CDA Residential Area in the Uttar Kattali neighborhood of Chittagong after receiving a tip that two men were transporting gold bars toward Dhaka.

During the search, officers recovered two gold bars wrapped in black tape from each suspect. The four seized gold bars had a combined weight of 466 grams.

Upon questioning, the men told police that a man named Md. Faruk from Chittagong's Hathazari area had handed them the gold bars in the New Market area to deliver to Dhaka.

Sub-Inspector Md. Jaker Hossain of the Akbar Shah Police Station subsequently filed a smuggling case under the Special Powers Act. The court formally framed charges against the two defendants on September 21, 2021, before convicting them on Wednesday following witness testimonies.