Police in India seized more than 2,700kg of banned tobacco products in Thirumudivakkam today (Feb. 18) following a tip-off about a Karnataka-registered truck allegedly transporting the contraband for local distribution. Officers traced the vehicle to the Thirumudivakkam industrial estate, where they found it parked alongside a smaller truck; suspects fled the scene as police approached. A search of the vehicles uncovered the banned tobacco products bundled and ready for transport. A case has been registered, and efforts are under way to identify and apprehend those involved in the smuggling operation.
Tag: seized
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Cigarette Smuggling Dominating Hong Kong Customs
Cigarette trafficking made up roughly three-quarters of all smuggling investigations handled by Hong Kong’s Customs and Excise Department in 2025, as overall smuggling cases climbed 24% year over year to more than 38,000, the department reported. Authorities recorded over 29,000 cigarette-related cases, up 36%, leading to more than 28,000 arrests, while total seizures remained steady at about 600 million sticks.
Officials said organized networks increasingly used cross-border travelers — including attempts to conceal cigarettes in clothing, wheelchairs, and strollers — with a 41% rise in passengers exceeding the city’s duty-free limit of 19 cigarettes. Meanwhile, illicit drug cases declined 29% to 961, although total drug seizures increased 19% to 7.5 tons, and the estimated value of all seized smuggled goods reached HK$4.2 billion ($546 million).
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$13M Illicit Vape Factory Uncovered in Russia
Russian authorities shut down an illegal vape liquid production workshop in the Moscow region. During 20 searches of residences, warehouses, and offices, police seized four production lines, 600,000 reusable vape devices, raw materials, and over 2 million rubles plus around $400,000, with a total product value estimated at about 1 billion rubles ($13 million). The operation reportedly ran nonstop, producing up to 75,000 units per shift, which were then distributed regionally or stored in warehouses.
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20M Illegal Cigarettes Seized in Thailand Raid
Thai authorities recently seized 20 million illicit cigarettes and arrested 14 suspects in a major smuggling crackdown in Hat Yai, Songkhla, Prime Minister and Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul announced. Officials confiscated more than 2,000 cartons of cigarettes and 11 vehicles, estimating the operation prevented over 67 million baht ($2.1 million) in lost tax revenue, with potential penalties exceeding 1 billion baht ($31 million). Authorities said the products were prepared for nationwide distribution and noted survey data suggesting illicit cigarettes account for about 90.1% of the market in Songkhla, with most smuggled from neighboring countries.
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Crash Spills Smuggled Cigarettes Across Polish Highway
Polish police responding to a highway traffic accident found thousands of cigarettes strewn across S61, a key route linking Poland and Lithuania. Investigators found more than 1 million cigarettes in a van that had just crossed the border and stopped in the emergency lane before getting hit and spilling its cargo. The cigarettes were seized for not having Polish tax stamps, and the 36-year-old Lithuanian driver was arrested.
According to preliminary estimates, the smuggling attempt could have deprived the Polish state budget of over 1.5 million złoty ( $416,000) in unpaid excise duty.
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Midwest Goods Responds to FDA Seizure, Says Actions are ‘Troubling’
Following yesterday’s (September 10) news that federal officials seized $86.5 million worth of illicit vapes in Chicago, Midwest Goods confirmed that agents from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Marshals executed a civil seizure warrant at its facilities, targeting more than 75 brands of bottled e-liquids used in refillable vaping devices. The company said it is fully cooperating with authorities.
In a statement, Midwest emphasized that the products cited in the warrant are manufactured in the U.S. by companies employing “hundreds, if not thousands,” of American workers. Many of the e-liquids, the company said, are tied to premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) that have been pending with the FDA since as far back as September 2020, despite a statutory requirement for review within 180 days. Midwest noted that the FDA has previously allowed these products to remain on the market during the prolonged review process.
“Midwest has always attempted to work cooperatively with FDA,” the company said in its statement. “After a recent FDA inspection in August, we advised FDA that we had removed from our product catalog and inventory several ENDS products about which FDA inspectors had inquired. We also offered to remove other ENDS products from our product catalog if FDA was concerned about our continuing to offer them for sale. FDA acknowledged receipt of our correspondence, but did not request that we stop selling any other products.”
The company called the enforcement action “troubling,” particularly in light of reports that FDA is preparing to expedite reviews of products tied to larger companies with more recent applications, while seizing long-pending independent products. It pledged to continue cooperating with federal authorities while reserving the right to challenge the seizure in court.
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Silk Group Chair Charged in Nepal with $126M Vape Smuggling Case
Nepal’s Department of Revenue Investigation (DRI) filed a case against 12 individuals, including Silk Group chairperson Ramesh Sherpa, over alleged involvement in the large-scale smuggling of Chinese electronic cigarettes. The case, lodged at the Lalitpur District Court on August 14, seeks prison terms and fines totaling nearly Rs17.5 billion ($126 million).
Investigators allege the group used about 100 shipping containers to import vapes disguised as legitimate goods through the Tatopani customs point, bypassing the government’s import ban. A January raid on a Silk warehouse in Sitallheight seized 86,400 vapes, with further evidence collected from company sites in Balkumari and Naxal. Authorities claim Sherpa and his associates fabricated records, created fake transactions, and sold nearly 39,000 vapes without bills, leading to estimated revenue losses of Rs873 million ($6.3 million).
The DRI has demanded maximum prison terms for Sherpa, his brother-in-law Vijay Sherpa, and other key defendants, while seeking reduced sentences for two secondary accomplices. Officials say the total recovery sought exceeds Rs1.74 billion ($12.5 million), and investigations are continuing, with some seized shipments still held at Tatopani customs warehouses.
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U.S. Customs Seize 749 Cartons of Cigarettes from Cruisers
CSP Daily reported that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport seized nearly $60,000 worth of counterfeit cigarettes from passengers arriving on a cruise ship from Ensenada, Mexico, according to a CBP statement last week.
On April 17, two female passengers traveling together disembarked an ocean liner arriving to Long Beach Cruise Ship Terminal and presented themselves for inspection, where CBP discovered 10 pieces of luggage full of cigarettes, including 749 cartons of illicit cigarettes.
“Large quantities of cigarettes are considered ‘commercial,’ not personal use; therefore, an importer permit from the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) is required,” CBP said in a statement. “In addition, tobacco product labels must meet FDA standards, such as including nicotine warnings and accurate product descriptions.”
Although the travelers presented purchase receipts, they were unable to provide the appropriate permits to import such a quantity of tobacco products. All 749 cartons will be destroyed under CBP supervision.
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$3.9M of Illegal Vapes Seized in Thailand
The Metropolitan Police Bureau’s investigation team raided warehouses in Thailand’s Nonthaburi province yesterday (March 18) and seized more than 260,000 e-cigarettes with a street value of over 130 million baht. ($3.9 million). Investigators believe the vaping products had been smuggled in from China through the Laem Chabang port in Chonburi and distributed to more than 100 retail outlets nationwide.
Dubbed “Operation Smoke Out,” police said they targeted six warehouses in the province that were linked to five individuals who were responsible for shipping and distributing the products. Two men were arrested, the police said, adding that the suspects were allegedly paid 20,000 baht ($600) each to look after one of the warehouses.
“This is considered a major raid with high value,” Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said while visiting the scene. “The officers will expand the investigation to the masterminds and bring them to justice.”
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Report: Massachusetts’ Restrictions Created Huge Illicit Market
A new report says that Massachusetts, one of the states at the forefront of fighting tobacco and nicotine with taxes and regulations, saw a 21,000% increase in illegal vape seizures last year. The Massachusetts Multi-Agency Illegal Tobacco Task Force (which is under the umbrella of the state’s Department of Revenue) said state police vape seizures jumped from 1,326 units to 279,432.
The report also found there is a thriving market for untaxed menthol cigarettes, flavored cigars, and other banned products, all presumedly powered by state policies like high taxes and strict prohibition.
“It just shows that, in the state’s own report, black market sales will rise or thrive because of this,” V.J. Mayor, the CEO of the Northeast Wholesalers Association told Inside Sources. “And it doesn’t achieve the public health outcome that the state is looking for when it increases state excise taxes on cigarettes.
“Massachusetts’ experience proves that overly restrictive policies do not eliminate the problem, they simply drive it underground. This fuels a thriving black market, undermines legitimate businesses, and ultimately shortchanges the state’s revenue.”
The state’s restrictive policies date back to 2019’s “An Act Modernizing Tobacco Control” law, which banned the sale of flavored tobacco products, added new regulatory requirements, and placed a 75% excise tax on electronic nicotine systems. It also opened the door for local authorities to extend their own controls, with numerous towns adding more taxes, creating generational bans, and outlawing specific products.
“These numbers are absolutely staggering and prove what [we] warned from the start—Massachusetts has created the perfect environment for illegal smuggling,” said Peter Brennan, executive director for the New England Convenience Store and Energy Marketers Association. “Our members are losing customers to the illicit market every day, and the state is bleeding tax revenue because criminals are filling the void created by excessive taxes and product bans.”
Paul Craney, from the free-market Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance think tank, says Massachusetts has one of the highest rates of consumers who buy tobacco products without paying state taxes as people cross the border into New Hampshire to buy the products significantly cheaper, and then also end up doing more shopping for alcohol, groceries, and more. The Tax Foundation and Mackinac Center for Public Policy found that between 2007 and 2022, New Hampshire’s government received $955 million from Massachusetts smokers.
“This report is also clear evidence of just how misguided additional prohibitions would be,” Brennan said. “Ideas like creating a so-called nicotine-free generation or limiting sales of nicotine products to adult-only stores will only make a bad situation worse—driving even more consumers to illegal sellers, costing even more tax revenue, and putting even more pressure on our small businesses.”