On November 6, the Customs Department announced that officers at the airport had detected two separate attempts to transport prohibited goods, involving heated tobacco products and dried parts of cannabis plants.
More than 400 heated tobacco sticks found in luggage
According to the Customs Department, X-ray scans revealed that the checked baggage of four passengers contained suspected heated tobacco products, which are on Vietnam's list of prohibited imports.
The passengers were suspected of failing to declare the goods in their luggage.
Customs officers at Noi Bai International Airport subsequently asked the four passengers to attend an inspection room for physical checks of their baggage.
The inspection uncovered more than 400 heated tobacco sticks of various types bearing the TEREA brand.
25.4kg of dried cannabis plant material seized
In a separate incident, at around 10.45 pm on October 25, customs officers inspecting transit baggage detected suspicious signs in a checked suitcase.
The luggage belonged to a Spanish national travelling on flight VN922, who was due to transfer to flight VN19 from Noi Bai International Airport to Charles de Gaulle Airport in France. The connecting flight was scheduled to depart at 11.50 pm the same day.
X-ray images revealed an unusually shaped rectangular package inside the suitcase.
A physical inspection uncovered two vacuum-sealed rectangular packages wrapped in yellow-and-white plastic, each measuring approximately 40cm by 70cm.
The packages contained dried plant material in the form of flowers, leaves, branches and buds. Authorities identified all the material as parts of cannabis plants, with a combined weight of approximately 25.4kg.
The case has been handed over to Hanoi Police for further investigation and handling.