Turkish customs units confiscate record 3.3 million packs of smuggled cigarettes
a significant anti-smuggling operation yesterday, customs units confiscated 3.3 million packs of cigarettes on their way into Turkey onboard a ship.
The cigarettes confiscated in the operation are believed to have a market value of TL 28.5 million ($9.85 million), which would bring some TL 23 million in tax revenues if sold legally.
Acting on a tip, customs units followed the ship, which departed from the Magosa port in Turkish Cyprus with a declared route to Ukraine’s Skadovsk port. The ship, which passed through the Bosporus and went on to the Black Sea, was put under surveillance. After cruising off the Ukrainian coast for a while, the ship headed back to Istanbul.
The ship’s operators and crew declared they unloaded the ship’s freight in Ukraine and presented a document that said the same.However, Coast Guard and customs enforcement units boarded the ship and found the cigarette packs on board, which weighed some 100 tons in total.
Related Posts
Cigarette smuggling is red hot in Illinois, and taxes are to blame
Illinois’ cigarette-smuggling rank jumped the most out of any state studied in a...
lakh cigarettes seized by two Customs wings in Mumbai
MUMBAI: Following strict vigilance by central agencies at Mumbai international...
Viewpoint: A shot in the arm for generics producers
Domino inksThere is nowhere to hide from the Falsified Medicines Directive. It...
Ministry seizes 25,000 fake coffee sachets
The authorities have seized thousands of counterfeit “aphrodisiac coffee” sachets...