4,200kg banned sweetener seized at Ctg Port

Chattogram Desk :

The Custom House, Chattogram has seized 4,200 kilograms of prohibited artificial sweetener Sodium Cyclamate from a container at Chattogram Port.

According to an NBR press release, the intelligence wing of Chattogram Custom House conducted the operation based on secret information, with support from the Central Intelligence Cell (CIC) in Dhaka.

The consignment was imported by Ejaz Trading, a Keraniganj-based firm, which had declared the shipment as Polyaluminium Chloride. The container carrying 22,088 kilograms of products from China arrived at the port on October 21.

Acting on intelligence alerts, Customs officers suspended the release of the consignment and conducted a physical inspection on November 6, reports UNB.

During the examination, officials found two different types of goods inside the container.

Samples were collected and sent to the Customs laboratory for analysis.
Laboratory tests confirmed that 17,800 kilograms matched the declared Polyaluminium Chloride while the remaining 4,200 kilograms were identified as Sodium Cyclamate – a sweetener banned in Bangladesh due to serious health risks.

Sodium Cyclamate is 30 to 50 times sweeter than sugar and is often misused in confectionery, processed food, beverages, chocolates and even baby food.
Studies have linked the substance to cancer and severe kidney and liver complications.

Customs authorities seized the undeclared sweetener under the Customs Act, 2023, and legal proceedings are underway.

The NBR saidon September 16 and October 28, Customs intercepted two other consignments totalling nearly 100 tonnes of Sodium Cyclamate at Chattogram Port.