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Tag: illicit

  • BAT to Shut Down Only South African Plant

    BAT to Shut Down Only South African Plant

    BAT South Africa (BATSA) announced it will cease local production of factory-manufactured cigarettes and close its sole manufacturing facility in Heidelberg, Gauteng, by the end of 2026, citing the overwhelming growth of illicit cigarettes in the market. The company estimates that illegal products now account for about 75% of cigarette sales in South Africa, rendering local manufacturing commercially unviable. The plant is currently operating at just 35% of capacity due to sustained volume losses linked to the illicit trade.

    “We have tried everything to ensure we don’t have to close this facility, which has been a part of the Heidelberg community since 1975, including implementing various efficiency initiatives over the years,” said Johnny Moloto, head of corporate and regulatory affairs at BAT Sub-Saharan Africa.  “But when three-quarters of your market is illicit, there’s a limit to what any company can do. We’ve reached that limit.”

    BATSA said the closure will directly affect approximately 230 employees and their families and will also have knock-on effects across the local value chain, including suppliers, logistics providers, and contractors in the Lesedi community. The company has initiated a formal consultation process with employees and unions in line with labor law and expects this process to conclude by the end of March 2026, ahead of the full shutdown later in the year. Despite the closure, BATSA stressed it is not exiting South Africa and will transition to an import-based supply model to continue serving adult consumers.

    The company said it has spent more than a decade engaging with government and law-enforcement authorities, warning that policy decisions such as the 2020 tobacco sales ban, above-inflation excise increases, and proposed new tobacco legislation have widened the gap between legal and illegal products. BATSA argued that enforcement efforts have been insufficient to protect legitimate businesses and jobs, with illicit cigarettes costing an estimated R28 billion ($1.7 billion) a year in lost tax revenue. BATSA also warned that illicit trade is increasingly affecting other sectors, including alcohol, pharmaceuticals, and consumer goods.

    The growth of illicit trade accelerated after a Covid-era ban on tobacco sales in 2020, from which BATSA says the legal market never recovered. BATSA said it could reconsider local manufacturing if there is sustained progress in curbing illicit trade but cautioned that proposed new tobacco legislation and rising excise duties risk further worsening the problem.

  • Scottish Retailers Want Help as Illicit Vapes Top £2.8B

    Scottish Retailers Want Help as Illicit Vapes Top £2.8B

    Scottish convenience retailers are calling for tougher enforcement to combat what they describe as a deepening black market in illegal vapes, warning that poorly designed regulations could worsen the problem, according to Convenience Store. The Scottish Grocers’ Federation (SGF) said illicit vape sales are depriving the public purse of millions of pounds in lost tax revenue, undermining compliant local stores, and posing health risks due to unregulated products. As the UK Government’s Tobacco & Vapes Bill advances and Scotland prepares secondary legislation, SGF urged policymakers to consult retailers closely and invest more in trading standards enforcement to prevent unintended criminal opportunities, particularly around flavor restrictions and product placement rules.

    SGF head of policy and public affairs Luke McGarty said organized criminal gangs are increasingly involved in the illicit vape trade, with products often sold to underage consumers and without any safety assurances. He warned that illegal tobacco already costs HM Revenue and Customs an estimated £2.8 billion annually, a figure likely to rise sharply as the illegal vape market expands. Retailers reported that illicit activity has intensified following the disposable vape ban, with three-quarters of SGF members saying the restriction has encouraged illegal sales. Store owners and the federation stressed that without stronger enforcement and carefully calibrated rules, further regulation risks accelerating illicit trade, increasing crime and abuse against retail staff, and undermining public health objectives, including smoking cessation.

  • Nepal Confiscates 16K Illicit Vapes at Mountain Border

    Nepal Confiscates 16K Illicit Vapes at Mountain Border

    Nepalese authorities seized e-cigarettes valued at Rs 22.4 million ($155,000) at the Korala border, underscoring continued enforcement against illegal vape trade. The Nepal Police, Armed Police Force, and Mustang Customs Office intercepted a container carrying 16,000 vape units on Monday (January 12) evening, with the driver taken into custody and the vehicle impounded. The seizure follows a similar operation last year at the same transit point—a high-altitude crossing point with China’s Tibet Region—where vapes worth Rs 68.1 million ($470,000) were confiscated, highlighting persistent smuggling activity along the border.

  • Indonesia Hopes Simplifying Excises Will Reduce Illicits

    Indonesia Hopes Simplifying Excises Will Reduce Illicits

    Indonesia is preparing to introduce an additional cigarette excise tax layer in 2026 as part of efforts to curb illegal tobacco and draw illicit producers into the formal market. Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa said the proposal is still under discussion but could be confirmed soon, with regulations potentially issued next week. The move is intended to complement the gradual simplification of the cigarette excise (CHT) structure, which has been reduced from 19 tiers in 2009 to eight under the current framework, while pairing incentives with stricter enforcement for non-compliance.

    Authorities underscored the scale of the illicit trade challenge, noting that Customs and Excise has seized around 1.4 billion illegal cigarettes through more than 20,000 enforcement actions since the beginning of 2025, including a recent seizure of 160 million cigarettes from a warehouse in Pekanbaru, Riau. In value terms, illegal cigarette seizures reached Rp9.8 trillion ($564 million) in 2025, up 2.1% year on year, highlighting the government’s intensified crackdown alongside planned excise reforms.

  • Overseas Seizures Show Korea Used as Tobacco Smuggling Hub

    Overseas Seizures Show Korea Used as Tobacco Smuggling Hub

    South Korea’s customs agency said millions of packs of smuggled cigarettes were seized overseas last year through joint operations with foreign authorities, underscoring the country’s growing use as a transshipment hub by international smuggling networks. The Korea Customs Service (KCS) said nearly 5.2 million packs, weighing about 103 tons, were confiscated abroad after being routed through South Korea.

    According to the KCS, major seizures included roughly 760,000 packs in the United States, 380,000 in Hong Kong, 260,000 in the United Kingdom, and 230,000 in Taiwan. The total far exceeds the 3.6 million packs detected overseas between 2019 and 2021, highlighting a sharp rise in cases linked to Korea-based transit routes.

    A KCS official said cigarette smuggling, like drug trafficking, is a key funding source for criminal syndicates. The agency said it will further strengthen international cooperation to prevent South Korea from being exploited as a logistics hub for global illicit trade.

  • Philippines Cracking Down on Illicits, Many Drug Laced

    Philippines Cracking Down on Illicits, Many Drug Laced

    The Philippine National Police (PNP) is stepping up efforts to curb the smuggling and spread of “Thuoc Lao,” or black cigarettes, as part of a broader crackdown on illegal tobacco products. Acting PNP chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said police are strengthening intelligence operations with the Bureau of Customs, Department of Health, and other agencies, following a directive from President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to protect public health.

    Authorities say Thuoc Lao—also known locally as “tuklaw”—is a highly potent tobacco product from northern Vietnam, with nicotine levels reportedly reaching up to 9%, far higher than conventional cigarettes. Some variants are also suspected of being laced with synthetic cannabinoids. The product is not authorized for import by the National Tobacco Administration, and officials raised alarms last year after reports that teenagers experienced seizure-like symptoms after smoking it.

    The crackdown comes amid broader concerns about illicit nicotine products entering the Philippine market. The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency has warned that some vape products may contain the same synthetic cannabinoids found in Thuoc Lao, prompting closer coordination between law enforcement and health authorities to prevent further spread and protect youth.

  • $3.2M Illicit Vape Ring Using Fishing Boats Busted in Taiwan

    $3.2M Illicit Vape Ring Using Fishing Boats Busted in Taiwan

    Prosecutors in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, indicted five suspects over a major tobacco smuggling operation uncovered in August, involving contraband cigarettes and heated tobacco products transported by fishing vessels. Authorities seized more than one million packages of undeclared tobacco products worth an estimated NT$100 million ($3.2 million), marking one of the largest busts in the city’s history.

    The operation followed months of surveillance by a joint task force comprising police, coast guard personnel, and prosecutors, who tracked three fishing boats suspected of collecting illicit cargo from foreign vessels outside Taiwan’s territorial waters before docking at Singda Harbor.

    All seized products were confiscated, and the suspects—three boat captains and two truck drivers—were indicted for violating the Tobacco and Alcohol Administration Act, prosecutors said.

  • UK Seized 1.2M Illicit Vapes in 2025

    UK Seized 1.2M Illicit Vapes in 2025

    New figures from UK local councils show that authorities seized an average of two illegal vapes every minute in 2025, removing around 1.2 million illicit devices from high streets nationwide. More than 14,000 enforcement cases were logged involving businesses caught possessing, stocking or selling illegal vaping products, reflecting a sharp rise in unlawful nicotine goods entering local retail outlets.

    Over the past year, enforcement teams also confiscated 7.15 million illegal cigarettes, 257,000 illegal disposable vapes and nearly 10,000 nicotine pouches. Consumer confusion remains widespread, with 54% of UK vapers saying they believe they have unknowingly bought illegal products.

    The data, compiled by online retailer Vape Club through freedom of information requests to local councils and a survey of 2,000 vapers, found that suspected illegal products were most often bought from convenience stores (36%), followed by vape shops (33%) and market stalls or street traders (26%). Vape Club director Dan Marchant said the trade in non-compliant products is damaging the industry’s reputation and called for tougher enforcement against rogue sellers.

  • Thailand Police Bust Illegal Vape Production Hub

    Thailand Police Bust Illegal Vape Production Hub

    Thailand’s Cyber Crime Police dismantled a large-scale illegal e-cigarette production and storage operation in Pattaya, arresting a 36-year-old Chinese national and seizing vaping products and equipment valued at more than 10 million baht ($320,000). Authorities recovered thousands of ready-to-use pods, empty cartridges, coils, devices, large quantities of e-liquid, and manufacturing equipment from a rented house used as the operation’s base. Police said the crackdown aligns with national efforts to curb the illegal trade of prohibited vaping products, particularly those distributed through online platforms and tourist areas.

  • Bulgarian Police Seize 400 Kg of Illicit Hookah Tobacco

    Bulgarian Police Seize 400 Kg of Illicit Hookah Tobacco

    Bulgarian police arrested two men in Sofia for possessing more than 400 kg of untaxed hookah tobacco worth more than BGN 100,000 ($60,000), officials said. The suspects, identified as two brothers in their 50s, were detained following a police operation after officers found untaxed tobacco in their vehicle and later uncovered the large cache in a nearby building. Authorities said the tobacco was intended for nationwide commercial distribution and had been sold through direct deliveries and courier services for nearly a year. A third individual suspected of involvement was also detained, and pre-trial proceedings are underway.