A North Korean diplomat was caught with 27kg of gold by Bangladeshi authorities at the Hazrat Shahjalal International airport in Dhaka on Thursday, according to customs officials.

The diplomat, identified as the first secretary of the North Korean embassy in Bangladesh, arrived from Singapore late Thursday evening when he was searched by customs officials.

“We recovered the gold both in the form of bar and ornaments from Son Young Nam, the First Secretary of the North Korean Embassy in Dhaka,” Moinul Khan, the Director General of the Custom Intelligence department, told Reuters.

According to local reports 19kg of the gold