Md. Nazrul Islam Bhuiyan, chairman of the Asian Group, has reached Delhi on a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight after passing through the security scanner at Shahjalal International Airport with 31 rounds of live ammunition in his bag.
Despite the three-tier security system in place at Shahjalal Airport, the incident of this huge amount of ammunition going unnoticed has painted an extremely fragile picture of the security structure of the country’s main airport. Even after passing through Dhaka, the end was not saved, after the scanner at Delhi International Airport in India detected the presence of live ammunition in Nazrul’s bag, the whole matter came to light and created a stir at the international level.
Investigations revealed that on July 16, Nazrul Islam Bhuiyan arrived at Shahjalal Airport with his son Aridin Bhuiyan and daughter Nusrat Zubaiyara to go to Delhi. They were passengers on Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight BG-397. That day, instead of using the normal entrance like ordinary passengers at the airport, they entered through the ‘Heavy Luggage Gate-6’ with the help of two Biman Bangladesh officials GSA Mizanur Rahman and GSS Saiful Islam, following an unethical and irregular protocol. As a result, Nazrul Islam and his family were able to avoid the normal initial level of search at the beginning.
Later, when they went to the C-01 boarding bridge area for the final security search after completing immigration and check-in, the security personnel showed extreme irresponsibility there too. Although the hand bags were supposed to be scanned intensively as per the rules, the screeners in charge could not identify the 31 rounds of bullets kept in the bag. After reviewing the CCTV footage, the investigating officers found another surprising piece of information. It can be seen that at the time Nazrul Islam’s bag was going through the scanning machine, security scanner ASG Arifur Rahman was busy exchanging greetings and shaking hands with the chairman of the Asian Group, ignoring his professional duties. In the midst of this greeting, one of the biggest threats to aviation—fresh ammunition—was smuggled onto international flights.
After the plane landed at Delhi Airport, Nazrul Islam Bhuiyan was caught while going through immigration and security scanning. Delhi Airport authorities immediately stopped the bag after seeing 31 rounds of bullets lined up inside it and officially informed Shahjalal Airport authorities about the information. Immediately after the incident was confirmed in Delhi, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) launched an investigation in Dhaka. The initial investigation revealed the fact that the airline staff had been given ‘illegal protocols’ and the security screeners were grossly negligent.
Shahjalal International Airport Executive Director SM Ragib Samad has made it clear that a report has been submitted to the headquarters recommending action against the staff and officials involved in the negligence of the screener and the violation of the rules and illegal protocols. At the same time, a high-level review is underway on the entire matter as questions have been raised about the effectiveness of the scanner machine or the goodwill of the staff. Although Nazrul Islam has not commented on this sensational incident of a passenger boarding an international flight with live ammunition, it has raised major questions about the international security standards of Shahjalal Airport.