A Dhaka tribunal has sentenced an air hostess to 10 years in prison over the seizure of 9.5 kilograms of smuggled gold found on her during a search at Shahjalal International Airport over three years ago.
The convict, Rokeya Sheikh Mousumi, and her relatives in the courtroom started crying after the judge, Faysal Atik Bin Kader of Special Tribunal-2, issued the verdict on Monday. She was escorted back to prison after the delivery of the verdict.
State counsel Shahabuddin Mia said the judge fined Rokeya Tk 50,000. She will have to serve three more months in jail if she does not pay the fines, according to bdnews24.com.
Three other accused – Sohel Khan, Asaduzzaman Prokash alias Bappy and Farid Hossain Jony – were acquitted.
Police arrested Rokeya at the airport on Sept 5, 2019, upon her arrival from Muscat via Chattogram on US Bangla Airlines flight BS322.
The Armed Police Battalion personnel found 82 gold bars taped to her body. The market price of the gold was Tk 41 million.
The court framed the charges against the accused in February 2021.