Authorities investigate importer after shipment reveals undeclared goods during airport inspection.
Customs officials inspecting seized misdeclared goods during an operation at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport’s air freight terminal on 30 July,2026. Photo: UNB
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Customs officials inspecting seized misdeclared goods during an operation at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport’s air freight terminal on 30 July,2026. Photo: UNB
Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID) officials have seized 101 cartons of allegedly misdeclared imported goods worth around Tk 1 crore at the air freight area of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, suspecting violations of Bangladesh’s import regulations.
The seizure was made today (30 July) during a joint operation by officials from the CIID headquarters and its Air Freight Circle at the yard adjacent to Delivery Gate No. 8 of the airport’s air freight terminal.
According to the CIID, the consignment was imported from the United Arab Emirates by Sardar Global Trade under Air Waybill No. 176-63518722.
The importer, through its nominated C&F agent Fahim 5 Star Ltd., submitted Bill of Entry No. C-764177 dated 29 July, 2026 in the ASYCUDA World system for customs clearance
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The declaration stated that the consignment contained motor parts, cosmetics, mini PCs, tablets, projectors and computer parts.
However, acting on prior intelligence, customs officials intercepted the shipment and carried out a physical examination.
During the inspection, officials found that the consignment contained undeclared and restricted or prohibited used goods concealed under the declaration of new products.
The seized items included 450 used laptops of HP, Dell, Lenovo and Microsoft brands, 963.8 kilograms of automobile parts, 96 units of 6TB hard disk drives, 291.14 kilograms of cosmetics and 96 used mini PCs.
Customs officials said the goods could not be released through payment of duties and taxes as they fall under prohibited or restricted import categories under the country’s import policy.
Investigators alleged that the cosmetics were imported without meeting mandatory import conditions, posing potential risks to public health.
They also said the import of used electronic products is prohibited because such items may later be marketed as new, deceiving consumers, while also posing environmental concerns.
Officials added that they would investigate whether the imported automobile parts were intended to assemble vehicles from separately imported components, including the possibility that chassis may have been brought in through other consignments.
The CIID said it would determine the responsibilities of the importer and the C&F agent before taking legal action under the Customs Act.
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