Customs intelligence officials have seized foreign cigarettes, mobile phones, electronic components, liquor and gold worth nearly Tk1 crore in a series of anti-smuggling operations at airports in Dhaka and Chattogram over two days.
The Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID) conducted the operations on Tuesday and Wednesday, targeting suspected misuse of baggage facilities and attempts to bring in restricted goods through airports, according to a press release.
At Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, CIID officials seized goods worth around Tk75.05 lakh in three separate incidents involving passengers arriving from Saudi Arabia, Thailand and Bahrain.
In the first operation on Tuesday, officials searched the baggage of two passengers arriving on Saudi Arabian Airlines flight SV804 and recovered 481 cartons of foreign cigarettes.
Passenger MD Mansur Alam was carrying 231 cartons, while Mohammed Nowaj Sharif had 250 cartons. The seized cigarettes were estimated to be worth Tk19.24 lakh.
On the same day, CIID officials intercepted a passenger arriving from Bangkok on Thai Airways flight TG339 and recovered mobile phones and electronic components concealed in baggage.
The passenger, Tipu Al Imran, was found carrying 36 smartphones, including 19 Redmi Turbo 4 Pro and 17 Honor 200 devices, with an estimated value of Tk15.96 lakh.
The same baggage contained 550 mobile LCD panels worth around Tk22 lakh and 950 motherboard-with-display units for button phones valued at approximately Tk14.25 lakh.
During routine surveillance, officials also recovered an abandoned bag near the baggage belt containing 3 litres of foreign liquor worth around Tk60,000.
In another operation at Dhaka airport on Wednesday, CIID officials stopped a passenger arriving from Bahrain on Gulf Air flight GF248 while crossing the green channel.
A search of the passenger, Md Al Amin, led to the recovery of 18 litres of Red Label foreign liquor estimated to be worth Tk3.60 lakh.
Separately, customs intelligence officials at Shah Amanat International Airport in Chattogram seized foreign cigarettes, medicines and gold jewellery from a passenger arriving from Dubai on Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight BG148 on Tuesday.
The seized items included 12 cartons of foreign cigarettes, Rowatinex and Sabril medicines, and 100 grams of gold jewellery, with an estimated value of Tk21.48 lakh.
Together, the operations in Dhaka and Chattogram resulted in the seizure of goods worth approximately Tk97.13 lakh.
CIID officials said the operations were carried out based on intelligence information, passenger profiling and enhanced monitoring at different airport points, including green channels and baggage areas.
The agency said surveillance and enforcement operations will continue to prevent smuggling and misuse of baggage allowances.
