Authorities at Shah Amanat International Airport in Chattogram have seized foreign cigarettes and mobile phones worth nearly Tk 60 lakh from three inbound passengers arriving from Dubai.

The contraband items were recovered late Friday night from three passengers travelling on US-Bangla Airlines flight BS 344, which landed from Dubai. 

The seizure included 570 cartons of foreign-brand cigarettes valued at Tk 19.95 lakh and 30 mobile phones worth approximately Tk 40 lakh.

The passengers were identified as Mohammad Shah Alam and Md Arfan, both from Hathazari, and Ashraful Islam from Zorarganj.

Engineer Mohammad Ibrahim Khalil, Public Relations Officer of Shah Amanat International Airport, confirmed the incident. 

He said members of the National Security Intelligence (NSI) team stationed at the airport conducted the search around 9:30 pm after the men appeared suspicious while crossing through the green channel of customs after immigration clearance.

“The cigarettes were seized as they fall under the list of prohibited imports. The mobile phones were confiscated for exceeding the allowable baggage limit,” said Khalil, adding that the passengers were suspected to be involved in the transport of commercial goods under false pretenses, often referred to as ‘baggage party’ smuggling.

All three were fined, and their passport details were recorded. They were released with formal warnings, and officials stated that any repeat offense would result in legal action.

SMS/