Forensic investigation of flagged import goods

Abstract

Trade is central to social and economic activity, but imported goods must be screened carefully to protect public safety and national security. In this study, a consignment declared as household products was flagged by national security agencies for forensic investigation. Initial field tests at the port of entry used portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF), spectroscopic screening, and radiation surveys. The radiation survey showed no significant deviation from background levels, and the initial XRF measurements did not reveal suspicious elements. Spectroscopic screening, however, indicated high nitrate/nitrite levels in a material labelled as bath salt, where such levels were not expected. The samples were therefore subjected to laboratory analysis by high-accuracy energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF), instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA), ultraviolet--visible (UV--Vis) spectroscopy, gas chromatography--mass spectrometry (GC--MS), and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. INAA and XRF showed that the product labelled as bath salt (magnesium sulphate) contained magnesium at only about 0.23% and sulphur at 6.27%, which is inconsistent with the declared composition. UV--Vis spectroscopy confirmed nitrate/nitrite at 15.7% (m/v), while FTIR revealed nitrate absorptions together with hydrocarbon and amine features. GC--MS supported these findings by identifying complex hydrocarbon chains and related fragmentation patterns. Taken together, the results showed that the flagged goods were not household products but hazardous materials with potential ballistic applications. The investigation provided critical support to national security infrastructure by preventing suspicious materials from bypassing regulatory control.