United News of Bangladesh

Authorities have strengthened security in and around Shah Amanat International Airport and the seaport amid fears of possible cyberattacks. To prevent any untoward incidents, the airport and police authorities have taken joint precautionary measures including setting up a four-tier security cordon around the airport and banning all rallies, processions, and demonstrations near the airport, port, and customs areas. Group Captain Sheikh Abdullah Alamgir, Director of Shah Amanat International Airport, told UNB that the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) issued a nationwide alert to all airports to guard against potential cyberattacks targeting aviation systems. “Even before the alert, we had intensified security at the Chattogram airport to avert any unwanted situation,” he said. Third terminal at Dhaka airport to open soon: Commerce Adviser “Surveillance on suspicious passengers has been increased and our own security personnel are patrolling the airport area round the clock. Besides, a task force led by the Bangladesh Air Force remains active to ensure overall security.” Mohammad Ibrahim Khalil, the airport’s Public Relations Officer, said that due to the dense population around the Patenga area where the airport is located, special attention is being given to the perimeter and surrounding  areas. Armed Battalion Police and Ansar members are working to ensure comprehensive security, including maintaining the airport’s boundary wall and restricting unauthorised access, he addded. A four-tier security system has been activated covering the entry gate, checkpoints, baggage scanning areas, and runway zones, he said. Chattogram Metropolitan Police (CMP) has also tightened security measures at the port to ensure smooth import-export activities. CMP Deputy Commissioner (Traffic-Port) Kabir Ahmed said police have issued a 30-day ban on all rallies and gatherings in key areas including Barik Building, Nimtala, Customs Crossing, and Saltgola intersections. “Earlier, the Chattogram Port Authority had requested the CMP Commissioner to prohibit gatherings within the port and jetty areas to maintain operational security,” he added. The port and airport areas, stretching from Agrabad to the Patenga coastline — covering about 12 square kilometers — host several vital installations including two government EPZs, the Padma, Meghna, and Jamuna oil depots, and multiple public and private oil refineries.

Flight operations at Shah Amanat International Airport in Chattogram were suspended for nearly two hours on Saturday morning after a Biman flight carrying Hajj pilgrims got stranded on the runway. All passengers were safely disembarked after the fault was fixed, said Md Ibrahim Khalil, spokesperson for Shah Amanat International Airport. Biman’s Dhaka-Narita flight suspension draws flak The Biman flight, BG 138, carrying 387 Hajj pilgrims from Saudi Arabia's Madinah landed at the airport at 9:30 am but came to a halt near the end of Runway-23 to a technical glitch, he said. The aircraft was towed to an adjacent area using a tug vehicle around 11:20am allowing runway operations to resume.

Customs officials detained a man along with 23 gold bars, weighing 2.7 kg, from Chattogram’s Shah Amanat International Airport today, officials said. The arrestee was identified as Mohammad Ziauddin, from Hathazari upazila of Chattogram district. Deputy Director of Chattogram Customs, Saifur Rahman, said a flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines (BG-148) from Dubai landed at the airport in the morning. Also read: Man held with 13 kg gold bars at Benapole During scanning, the customs officials suspected the existence of metal objects inside the body of the passenger and challenged him. Later, they seized the gold bars from him. Customs officials are scanning his body, suspecting that the passenger might be carrying more gold.      

National Security Intelligence and Customs Intelligence Authority have detained a Sharjah-bound passenger with over 2.5 lakh Dirham at Shah Amanat International Airport in Chattogram on Saturday. The detainee was Mohammad Ali, of Satkania upazila in the district. Read: APBn detains man with gold worth Tk 69 lakh at Dhaka Airport He was supposed to fly to Sharjah of the United Arab Emirates by an Air Arabia aircraft in the morning. Bashir Ahmed, additional director general of customs intelligence and investigation authority, said a team of the NSI and Customs Intelligence jointly conducted a drive at the airport around 6.30am. Mohammad Ali was detained with foreign currency worth over Tk 73 lakh during the drive; he said adding that the detainee visited several countries six times in the current year. Read: Air passenger detained with 110 cartons of foreign cigarettes in Ctg During primary interrogation, the detainee confessed to his involvement in money launderingr, the customs officer said. A case will be filed against him at the Patenga police station in this connection, he added.

Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari made a brief stopover at Chattogram airport on Wednesday. Information and Broadcasting Minister Hasan Mahmud received the Pakistan Foreign Minister, Pakistan High Commission in Dhaka said in a Facebook post. The Pakistan Foreign Minister made the stopover on his way to Phnom Penh, Cambodia to lead the Pakistan delegation at the 29th Ministerial Meeting of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum (ARF) being held from August 4 till August 6. Read: PM Hasina greets Shehbaz Sharif Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen is in Cambodia to attend the meeting. The two Ministers during the meeting also exchanged books of each other’s country as gifts. The Pakistan Foreign Minister stayed for around 40 minutes at the airport, the Facebook post reads.

A Bangladeshi national was detained with 12 gold bars at Shah Amanat International Airport in Chattogram Friday, Customs officials said. The arrestee has been identified as Md Mizan Uddin, a resident of Fatikchari upazila, said Farhad Hossain, managing wing commander of the airport. Also read: Youth held with 10 gold bars in Magura Mizan arrived from Sharjah around 7.30 am on an Air Arabia flight. "The gold bars, weighing 1.4kg and worth Tk one crore, were found in his baggage during checking," said the official. A case will be filed against the accused at Patenga police station in this regard, he said. Also read: Man held with 1.24 kg gold, lead at Chattogram Airport

Customs officials on Wednesday claimed to have seized more than 7, 200 cartons of foreign cigarettes during a drive at Shah Amanat International Airport in Chattogram. Tipped off, a team of Customs officials seized the cartons from the green channel of the airport on Tuesday night, deputy commissioner of Chattogram Customs, Salauddin Rizvi, said. The market value of the seized cigarettes is Tk 1.10 crore, he said. "Process is on to take legal action. However, no one was arrested in this connection." Also read: Man detained with 11 gold bars at Sylhet airport  

Customs officials on Thursday detained man along with 10 gold bars at Chattogram Shah Amanat International Airport. The detainee was Sazzad Hossain, a passenger of BG-4136 flight that landed at the airport from Jeddah. Also read: Man detained with gold bars & foreign fags at Ctg airport The gold bars were detected while scanning the luggage of Sazzad, said Md Salauddin Rizvi, Deputy Commissioner of Chattogram Airport Customs. The bars were hidden wrapped in scotch tape in lithium battery carbon inside a toy car, he said. Legal action will be taken against the detainee, he said. Also read: CAAB cleaning staff held with 41.76 kg gold bars at Dhaka airport

A Bangladeshi national has been detained with seven gold bars and 1,000 cigarettes worth TK 52 lakh at Chattogram Shah Amanat International Airport, Customs officials said on Tuesday. The detainee has been identified as Mohammad Arman Uddin, a UAE returnee. Arman's flight from the UAE landed at the Chattogram airport on Monday night. Also read: BGB nabs smuggler with 7 gold bars in Rajshahi "As he was passing through the green channel, Customs officials on duty became suspicious and frisked him only to seize the gold bars and the foreign fags," said AKM Sultan Mahmud, deputy director of Customs intelligence and investigation department. A case will be filed in this regard and the detainee will be handed over to the police for further action, said Mahmud. Also read: 2 held with gold bars worth Tk 2.5 cr at Benapole

Customs officials detained a 28-year-old man at Shah Amanat International Airport on Tuesday for allegedly attempting to smuggle in gold worth Tk 2.40 crore. Acting on a tip-off, a Customs team intercepted Mohammad Sohel at the airport upon his arrival from Dubai this morning. Read: 2 held with gold worth over Tk 2cr in separate drives at Dhaka airport "Subsequent frisking led to the seizure of 26 gold bars and other gold items weighing 4.1 kg," said Wing Commander Farhad Hossain Khan, the top airport official. Deputy commissioner of Airport Customs, Sumon Chakma said that the seized items included 26 gold bars, six molten gold leaf, three gold hunch, five bracelets and a gold necklace. Read: 'Rohingya' man held with 33 gold bars in Cox's Bazar "The detainee is being interrogated," he said.