Tk 97 lakh worth of cigarettes, liquor, phones seized at two airports

The Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID) has seized foreign cigarettes, mobile phones, mobile LCDs, display-equipped motherboards and liquor worth an estimated Tk 9.71 million in three separate operations at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport and Chattogram’s Shah Amanat International Airport.

The seizures were made on August 31 and September 1 as part of ongoing efforts to prevent smuggling and the misuse of passenger baggage allowances, the CIID said in a statement on Wednesday (September 2).

At Shahjalal International Airport on August 31, CIID officials acting on a tip searched the baggage of two passengers arriving on Saudi Arabian Airlines flight SV804. They recovered 231 cartons of foreign cigarettes from Mohammad Monsur Alam and another 250 cartons from Mohammad Nawaz Sharif.

The 481 cartons of cigarettes were valued at around Tk 1.924 million, according to the CIID.

In a separate operation the same day, officials searched the baggage of Tipu Al Imran, a passenger arriving from Bangkok on Thai Airways flight TG339. They recovered 36 smartphones concealed inside the luggage, including 19 Redmi Turbo 4 Pro and 17 Honor 200 handsets, with an estimated market value of Tk 1.596 million.

The search also uncovered 550 mobile LCD panels and 950 motherboards fitted with displays for feature phones. The LCD panels were valued at approximately Tk 2.2 million, while the motherboards were worth an estimated Tk 1.425 million.

During routine patrols at the airport, CIID officials also recovered three litres of foreign liquor from an unattended handbag found beside a baggage belt. The liquor was estimated to be worth Tk 60,000.

On September 1, CIID officials acting on another tip detained Mohammad Al Amin as he crossed the Green Channel after arriving from Bahrain on Gulf Air flight GF248. A search of his baggage uncovered 18 litres of foreign liquor valued at around Tk 360,000.

Separately, at Chattogram’s Shah Amanat International Airport on August 31, officials searched the baggage of a passenger arriving from Dubai on Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight BG148. They seized 12 cartons of foreign cigarettes, foreign medicines and 100 grams of gold jewellery, with a combined estimated value of Tk 2.148 million.

The CIID said the total estimated value of goods seized in the three operations at the two airports was Tk 9.7131 million.

The directorate said its anti-smuggling operations would continue through intelligence gathering, passenger profiling and close surveillance at different points of the airports, including the Green Channel, to prevent smuggling and illegal imports.