Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport
Covid test at Dhaka airport within 3-4 days: Caab chairman
Covid testing at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka will begin within three to four days, said chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (Caab) Air-Vice Marshal M Mofidur Rahman on Saturday.
He said this during his visit to the site designated for RT-PCR booths to be set up at the car parking lot of the airport for migrant workers.
The Caab chairman said the Covid testing will begin once the diagnostic centre, selected by the authorities, sets up its RT-PCR mobile booths.
Also read: Vaccination of students aged 12-17 to begin within 20 days: Health Minister
On September 6, Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam said PCR booths will be set up at three international airports of Bangladesh to facilitate passengers to take Covid-19 tests four to six hours before boarding their flights.
Also read: Covid claims 51 more lives in Bangladesh, case positivity rate falls to 5.98 per cent
The directive came from a cabinet meeting held with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.
He said the PCR booths will be set up at Dhaka, Chattogram and Sylhet international airports.
Man held with 37 gold bars at Dhaka airport
Customs officials detained a man along with 37 gold bars worth Tk 3 crore at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on his arrival from Saudi Arabia on Monday.
The detainee was identified as Mahin Uddin from Cumilla district.
Deputy Commissioner of the Dhaka Customs House (preventive team) Mohammad Abdus Sadek said a flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines landed at the airport around 3:11 pm on Monday.
Also read: Three held with Tk 8cr-worth liquid gold at Dhaka airport
Tipped off, a preventive team of the Dhaka Customs challenged Mahin, a passenger of the flight at the boarding bridge and brought him to the green channel of the airport.
Later, they recovered the gold bars weighing 4.29 Kgs from his handbag in presence of other officials.
Mahin claimed that the gold bars were handed over to him by a fellow immigrant from Cumilla named Jakir Hossain at King Khalid International Airport in Saudi Arabia, said the customs official.
An anonymous man was to receive the bars from Mahin outside the airport upon arrival, he said.
Also read: Man held with 52 gold bars at Dhaka airport
He was handed over to the Airport Police Station. A case was filed in this connection.
Man held with currencies of 8 countries at Dhaka airport
Airport Armed Police Battalion (AAP) members on Monday morning detained a man along with currencies of eight countries worth Tk 2.5 crore from the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.
The detainee was identified as Jahangir Gazi, 36.
Read: Three held with Tk 8cr-worth liquid gold at Dhaka airport
Additional Superintendent (media) of AAP Md Jiaul Haque said tipped off, they detained Gazi right after he completed his boarding pass and initially recovered 50,000 Saudi Riyal from his possession.
“Later we scanned all of his belongings and recovered the rest of the currencies,” he added.
Man held with 52 gold bars at Dhaka airport
Customs officials detained a man along with 52 gold bars worth Tk 4 crore at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Friday night.
The detainee was identified as Rakibul Hasan, hailing from Cumilla district.
Deputy Commissioner of the Dhaka Customs House (preventive team) Mohammad Abdus Sadek said a flight of Saudi Airlines landed at the airport around 11:29 pm on Friday.
Also read: Man held with 20 gold bars in Jashore
Tipped off, a preventive team of the Dhaka Customs challenged a passenger of the flight while passing through the green channel of the airport.
Later, they recovered the gold bars from the handbag of the passenger in presence of other officials.
He was handed over to the Airport Police Station. A case was filed in this connection.
Also read: Dubai passenger held with gold bars at Sylhet airport
20 lakh doses of Sinopharm vaccine to reach Dhaka tonight
Some 20 lakh doses of Sinopharm vaccine is expected to reach Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in two aircraft on Saturday night and early Sunday.
Of the total vaccine, 10 lakh doses will reach around 11 pm while the remaining 10 lakh around 3 am Sunday, said a handout of the Health and Family Welfare Ministry.
Bangladesh will receive 20 lakh doses of Sinopharm vaccine from China as part of the commercial agreement, said Deputy Chief of Mission at Chinese Embassy in Dhaka Hualong Yan on Friday.
READ: Govt to purchase 15 mn Sinopharm vaccine doses at lower rate
Talking to UNB, Hualong said China will also provide 10 lakh doses of Sinopharm vaccine in addition to the 11 lakh doses already received as a gift from it.
"This is a gift for our Bangladeshi brothers and sisters in their fight against the pandemic," Hualong Yan said.
Bangladesh has already received 20 lakh doses of Sinopharm vaccine as part of commercial purchase from China.
Bangladesh will receive initially 1.5 crore doses of vaccine as part of a commercial purchase agreement.
Hualong said China stands ready to provide support and assistance to help with Bangladesh government's poverty alleviation through the China-South Asian Countries Poverty Alleviation and Cooperative Development Center.
READ: Covid vaccine supply: Gavi signs deals with Sinopharm, Sinovac for COVAX
Earlier, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China will continue to provide Bangladesh with the Covid vaccines to help it fight the epidemic.
He also said China is willing to work with Bangladesh to maintain the momentum of the development of the strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries.
The Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister met Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momon in Tashkent and discussed the issues on the sidelines of the International Conference on “Central and South Asia: Regional connectivity - Challenges and opportunities” on Thursday.
READ: Mass inoculation to restart Monday with Sinopharm, Tuesday with Moderna: DGHS
Wang Yi said that China and Bangladesh are good neighbours and friends and the two sides always adhere to equal treatment and mutual respect, continue to deepen friendly cooperation, and actively jointly build the "Belt and Road".
Man held at Dhaka airport with Tk1.06cr gold
A passenger was detained by Customs officials at Dhaka international airport in the early hours of Friday for allegedly attempting to smuggle in two gold bars of 1.6kg, worth Tk1.06 crore.
The detainee has been identified as Jashim Mia, a resident of Narsingdi district.
Acting on a tip-off, a team from the Dhaka Customs House intercepted Jashim at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport upon his arrival from Jeddah around 2.45am on Friday.
Also read: Man held with 20 gold bars in Jashore
The Customs team challenged Jashim as he was passing through the green channel around 4.30 am. "The two gold bars weighing about 1.6kg were recovered from a flower pot that he was carrying," Deputy Commissioner of the Dhaka Customs House (preventive team) Mohammad Abdus Sadek said.
The gold bars worth Tk1.06 crore have been seized and submitted to the national reserve, while the passenger was handed over to the police. "A a criminal case has been filed against the accused at the local police station," he added.
Also read: Dubai passenger held with gold bars at Sylhet airport
7 held as 119 dead chickens seized from restaurant near Dhaka airport
A team of Airport Armed Police Battalion (APBn) seized 119 dead chickens from a restaurant near the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on Saturday afternoon.
Seven people including the restaurant's manager, cooks and supplier of the chickens were arrested, additional superintendent of Airport Armed Police Ziaul Hoque told UNB.
"A team led by an executive magistrate conducted a drive at ‘Airport Restaurant’ near the Airport Customs House at 2:30 pm and seized the dead chickens,” he said.
Read: Harassment in name of raids at hotel, restaurants unacceptable: FBCCI President
He added that legal action will be taken against the arrestees.
Read: Chandpur: Restaurant, party host fined Tk 1 lakh for violating Covid norms
Man held with Tk. 1.8 crore worth gold
Preventive team of Dhaka Custom House on Saturday (May 01, 2021) arrested a man with 2.6 Kg gold at Dhaka Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.
On the basis of a secret tip off, the gold was seized from Joynal Abedin, a passenger of Flight No. SV 3580 from Saudi Arabia at 01:25 pm.
According to the passport, Joynal Abedin is from Noakhali district.
Also read: Man arrested with gold worth Tk 5 crore at Dhaka airport
When asked he denied about the gold while crossing green channel.
Later while scanning the luggage, a total 2.8 kg gold was found hidden inside charger light, toys and flask, confirmed Dhaka Customs House Deputy Commissioner (Preventive).
Scan of the luggage with the passenger turned up about 2,600 kg of gold inside a charger light peas, toys and flax, according to the Deputy Commissioner (Preventive), Dhaka Customs House.
Also read: Man held with 20 gold bars in Jashore
Estimated market value of the seized gold is Tk 1.8 crore.
The passenger has been handed over to the Airport Police Station and a criminal case has been filed.
The seized gold will be dealt with under the Customs Act, said the Deputy Commissioner.
Read Dhaka airport goes to the dogs, literally!
Dhaka airport goes to the dogs, literally!
The Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport's security is in safe paws -- thanks to a pack of specially trained dogs that keeps a strict vigil on the country's busiest airport 24*7.
These energetic dogs -- mostly German Sheprador, a cross between the German Shepherd and Labrador Retriever dog breeds -- help the Airport Armed Police (AAP), which handles the airport security, in detecting smuggled drugs, firearms and explosives.
AAP set up its dog squad, called K-9, with just four dogs imported from the UK in 2017. The squad got more teeth with the entry of four imported dogs in 2018 and five more a year later. K9 is a homophone of 'canine', popularly used in English-speaking countries.
Also read: No compromise over airport security: State Minister
The primary duties of the K9 members include searching for drugs and explosives, finding crime scene evidence, and attacking people targeted by the police. The dogs are also trained to remember several verbal cues and hand gestures.
"Eight members of the dog squad, part of the first two batches, have already been given special training to use their senses to detect explosives to keep the airport safe," AAP's Additional Superintendent (Operations and Media) Alamgir Hossain Shimul told UNB.
Read Dhaka airport: Man held with 2,000-plus yaba tablets inside stomach
Over 200 protest flight cancellation at Dhaka airport
Around 200 Saudi Arabia-bound migrant workers staged a protest inside the Dhaka airport early on Saturday morning after a scheduled special flight of Biman Bangladesh to Riyadh was cancelled at the last minute.
The special flight to Riyadh was scheduled to take off around 6.15 am, with some 201 passengers, said Tahera Khandaker, DGM (Public Relations)of Biman Bangladesh. "But the flight was cancelled as the Saudi authorities made a delay in giving landing permission."
The aggrieved passengers of the flight soon staged a protest inside the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.
Also read: Coordinated efforts made to ensure expats' comfortable return to 5 countries: FM
"However, the authorities concerned have made special arrangements for all the passengers at different hotels. They will fly later," said Tahera.
The government has decided to operate special flights of national carrier Biman to five countries, including four in the Middle East with high concentration of Bangladeshi expat workers, from April 17.
Also read: Bangladesh to operate special flights to carry overseas workers
The government has suspended operations of all domestic and international passenger flights to contain the spread of Covid-19 in the country during the 'all-out lockdown', which came into effect on April 14.
However, the special air services will allow overseas workers currently stuck in Bangladesh to return to their places of work, officials have said.
Also read: Biman to run special flights to 5 countries from Apr 17