Seizure of 24.2 million contraband cigarettes – Corresponding duties and taxes at 5.9 million euros

Inspectors proceeded to identifying and confiscating 24,220,000 pieces of contraband cigarettes, as well as their production and packaging mechanism,after an inspection they carried out in three containers at the port of Piraeus.

The containers

Specifically, the customs officers of the 3rd Customs House of Piraeus, with the use of the X-RAY system and the assistance of a tobacco sniffing dog, after a local risk analysis, identified and seized three containers as contraband.

The first with the country of origin being China, was unloaded at the port of Piraeus with a final recipient being a company based in Athens and declared content “machines and packaging for wrapping or packing goods”. During the inspection, however, the inspectors found that it actually contained a complete cigarette production and packaging machine, which was confiscated.

The second container was located by customs officers of the Anti-Smuggling Department of the 3rd Customs Office of Piraeus in collaboration with the SDOE, after using information from the Coordination Operations Center (COC). His country of origin was the United Arab Emirates and his final destination was Egypt. Inside it, 14,980,000 pieces of contraband cigarettes were detected and confiscated, the corresponding duties and taxes of which amount to 3,172,427.16 euros.

Finally, following information from the Coordination Operations Center, employees of the Anti-Smuggling Department of the 3rd Customs House of Piraeus with the assistance of the Coast Guard, proceeded to control and seize a third container with a country of origin in China and destination Bulgaria. Inside, 10,584 units were found in the first two loading rows of men’s underwear, but which were used as a means of concealing 9,240,000 pieces of contraband cigarettes found in the remaining loading rows. The corresponding duties and taxes on contraband cigarettes amount to 2,752,331.74 euros.