Vapes, cigarettes, banned cream, gold seized at Dhaka airport

Customs intelligence officials have seized e-cigarettes/vapes, cigarettes, banned beauty cream and gold ornaments worth around Tk 32.02 lakh at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka.

The seizures were made during separate drives on November 6 and 7, according to the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID).

During a drive on November 6, customs intelligence officials, acting on a tip-off, searched the baggage of a passenger, Sultana Razia, who arrived in Dhaka from Kuala Lumpur on a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight.

They recovered 90 pieces of e-cigarettes/vapes, 12 kg of banned Gauri cream and 100 grammes of gold ornaments from her baggage.

Officials found that her passport contained an entry showing that she had brought 100 grammes of gold ornaments into Bangladesh on August 13 this year.

As she was found carrying another 100 grammes of gold ornaments during the same year, the latest consignment was seized, the CIID said.

In a separate operation on November 7, customs officials seized 166 cartons of cigarettes left abandoned near the baggage carousel of a Qatar Airways flight, which arrived from Qatar.

The total estimated market value of the seized goods is Tk 32,02,500.

The detection of e-cigarettes and vapes in passenger baggage has raised concerns among  customs officials about emerging methods of      smuggling through international air travel.
The CIID said its surveillance and anti-smuggling operations at the airport would continue to prevent the illegal entry of prohibited goods and products posing risks to public health, while protecting government  revenue.