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
Counterfeit ‘Japanese steel’ rampant in China
There have been more than 100 cases in which steel materials falsely designated...
Trio in court over $19m drug trafficking
A 15-year-old girl charged with trafficking in dangerous drugs and two men, aged...
Going up in smoke: Terrorist financing and contraband cigarettes
In 2000, the United States authorities caught two Lebanese brothers for running a...
Four nabbed for smuggling liquor
The police have arrested four liquor smugglers during raids conducted in various...