Customs at Nội Bài airport detected separate cases involving heated tobacco and dried plant material suspected to be cannabis during October, Vietnam’s customs authority said in a report published by the Ministry of Finance on 6 November. Authorities said the matters were under verification, investigation and handling under the law.
Checks at the international terminal
From 3 to 17 October, customs officers used risk controls, checked screening images of hold baggage and reviewed passengers at the customs area of international terminal T2, according to the report.
Officers identified three passengers suspected of failing to declare goods in their baggage. An inspection found more than 400 cartons of heated tobacco bearing the TEREA brand, customs said. The report described heated tobacco as an import-prohibited product.
The notice did not identify the passengers or provide a final determination of individual responsibility. The discovery of goods in baggage is a separate matter from any outcome following verification.
A connecting passenger’s baggage
In a separate check on 25 October, customs and police screened baggage belonging to a Spanish passenger. The ministry report said the person was travelling on flight VN922 and connecting to flight VN19 from Nội Bài to Charles de Gaulle airport in France.
Officers found two vacuum-sealed rectangular packages wrapped in yellow and white plastic, each about 40 by 70 centimetres. Customs described dried flowers, leaves, branches and buds inside, weighing approximately 25.4 kilograms in total. Its initial account characterised the material as suspected cannabis.
The case was transferred to Hanoi police’s drug crime investigation division for further investigation. The notice did not report a completed investigation or a court judgment against the passenger.