Bulgarian authorities, working with U.K. partners, dismantled what prosecutors describe as the country’s largest illegal cigarette manufacturing facility, located near Batanovtsi, about 37 km west of Sofia. Officials seized cigarettes, approximately 13.8 tons of tobacco, and a truck carrying more than 10 million cigarettes, with unpaid excise duties estimated to exceed €2.8 million. The site featured a fully integrated production operation, including tobacco processing, cigarette manufacturing, packaging equipment, storage areas, and living quarters for around 20 foreign workers. Authorities said the factory had been operating for less than three weeks and was primarily producing cigarettes for export, with investigations ongoing and several individuals identified in connection with the operation.
Tag: illicit cigarette
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Malaysian Raid Seizes $2.7M in Illicit Vapes
Malaysia’s Customs Department detailed the seizure of more than RM13 million ($2.7 million) worth of illicit vape devices and liquids during an October raid on a storage warehouse in Padang Besar. Officers discovered 719,250 units, including over 211,000 devices and 508,000 liquids, all of which were believed to be undeclared and lacked the required Health Ministry import permits.
The products, imported from China, had arrived via Kuala Lumpur International Airport before being transported to Perlis. A man in his 40s is under investigation, and authorities are probing whether the stock was intended for domestic sale or re-export.
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Hong Kong Confiscates Black Market Cigarettes
Photo: YiuCheung | Adobe Stock Hong Kong customs officers arrested three men and confiscated HKD180 million ($23 million) in black market cigarettes, reports the South China Morning Post. This marks the second-largest smuggling bust of its kind this year.
Three container trucks at two shipping yards near Tsing Yi Road, Tsing Yi, and Container Port Road South in Kwai Chung carrying three 40-foot cargo containers with 31 million suspected illegal cigarettes were seized. Three more containers in the same yards were seized, holding 33 million sticks of tobacco.
If the illegal cigarettes were legally imported, the products would have generated HKD120 million in tax revenue.
Customs has seized 640 million suspected black market cigarettes this year, an almost 50 percent increase from last year’s 427 million, according to the South China Morning Post.
Many of the brands seized were popular overseas but uncommon locally. “Following the relaxation of anti-pandemic measures and the increase in the flow of people, the market demand for illicit cigarettes has increased,” Senior Investigator Lam Wai-kit said.
An investigation is ongoing to trace the source and flow of the illegal products, according to Lam.
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Malaysia: Illicit Cigarette Prevalence Drops
nikkytok Illicit cigarette prevalence in Malaysia has dropped by 6.5 percentage points from 63.8 percent in 2020, according to Nielsen’s Illicit Cigarettes Study in Malaysia 2021, reports The New Straits Times.
This is the first time since 2014 that illicit cigarette prevalence has registered a decline.
“This indicates that the measures announced by the finance minister in Budget 2021 are starting to bear results,” said a Confederation of Malaysian Tobacco Manufacturers (CMTM) spokesperson. “This is an encouraging development, and CMTM urges the government and all stakeholders to continue all efforts to curb the illicit cigarette trade.”
Malaysia is the number one country for illegal cigarettes, even with the decline. Smuggling syndicates are reacting to Budget 2021 measures by using new methods to illegally import cigarettes into the country.