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Tag: smuggling

  • French Retailers Cite Cross-Border Tobacco Trafficking

    French Retailers Cite Cross-Border Tobacco Trafficking

    French tobacconists near the Spanish and Italian borders are calling for action against what they describe as growing “nicotrafficking,” as lower cigarette prices in neighboring countries fuel cross-border purchases and resale in France. A pack that costs nearly €13 in France can be purchased for about €5.50 in Italy and between €5 to €6.25 in Spain, according to TF1. In the Alpes-Maritimes region, authorities administratively closed 32 establishments in 2025 for involvement in the illicit tobacco market.

    Claude Ferreri, vice president of the Alpes-Maritimes tobacconists, said legal tobacco sales have fallen 10% to 15% since 2024 and argued that narrowing the price gap with Italy could curb trafficking. Ferreri claimed that about half of cigarettes consumed in France bypass the legal tobacconist network, representing roughly 26 billion cigarettes annually.

  • NZ Proposes Tougher Penalties for Tobacco Smuggling

    NZ Proposes Tougher Penalties for Tobacco Smuggling

    New Zealand is proposing tougher penalties for tobacco smuggling and excise evasion, including increasing the maximum prison term from six months to seven years. The government also plans to introduce new offenses and fines for selling tobacco that does not comply with the country’s packaging requirements, including a fine of up to NZ$2,000 ($1,120) and a strict-liability penalty of up to NZ$200,000 ($112,000) for manufacturers, importers, and distributors. The maximum penalty for an existing knowledge-based packaging offense would increase from NZ$50,000 to NZ$100,000 ($28,000 to $ $56,000).

    The changes would be introduced through amendments to the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Act 1990. The government said Customs seized 12 million cigarettes and 1.7 tons of loose tobacco at the border between January and Sept. 1. The proposals would also align penalties for selling small quantities of tobacco with those for packaging offenses and strengthen consequences for specialist vape retailers that breach regulations.

  • Brazil Intercepts 200K Illicit Vapes

    Brazil Intercepts 200K Illicit Vapes

    Brazil’s Federal Revenue Service seized a container at the Port of Santos containing about 200,000 smuggled electronic smoking devices in an operation conducted Sept. 18. The shipment originated in Yantian, China, and was destined for Montevideo, Uruguay, but was falsely declared as LED screens and electronics.

    Authorities found that about 95% of the cargo consisted of undeclared electronic cigarettes without marketing authorization. The seizure followed information provided by Philip Morris International’s Illicit Trade Prevention team, which alerted Brazil’s General Coordination of Customs Administration after identifying that the vessel would stop in Santos before continuing to Uruguay.

  • China, Australia Bust $64M Tobacco Syndicate

    China, Australia Bust $64M Tobacco Syndicate

    Australian and Chinese authorities worked to dismantle an international syndicate accused of shipping illegal tobacco into Australia, with more than 60 people arrested in China. The Australian Border Force said the syndicate shipped more than 90 containers of tobacco to Australia between January and May. Authorities seized more than 60 million cigarettes and 60 kilograms of loose-leaf tobacco, with the tobacco valued at more than A$92 million ($64.4 million) based on the taxes allegedly evaded. Chinese authorities said the tobacco was likely manufactured and moved through Southeast Asia before being concealed in legitimate cargo bound for Australia.

    Ninety-one of the 112 containers flagged by Chinese authorities were found to contain illegal tobacco. Shipments left Shanghai concealed among goods including printers and lamps and largely arrived at Sydney port.

    Australia has experienced a sharp increase in illicit tobacco consumption in recent years. The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates that 80% of tobacco and other nicotine products consumed in the country are now illicit, compared with 12% in 2017.

  • Dubai Customs Seizes 70M Illicit Cigarettes Bound for Europe

    Dubai Customs Seizes 70M Illicit Cigarettes Bound for Europe

    Dubai Customs intercepted an attempt to export more than 70 million illicit cigarettes to a European country after detecting nine shipments across three air cargo facilities. The shipments contained 360,500 cartons, or nearly seven tons of tobacco, concealed in consignments declared as clothing.

    Risk analysis and shipment-data reviews revealed links between the consignments, which were ultimately traced to a single importer. Customs teams identified a common pattern across the nine shipments before they could leave the UAE.

    Dubai Customs said the operation demonstrated the effectiveness of data analysis and risk-based targeting in identifying connections between shipments and preventing illicit goods from moving through Dubai’s air cargo network.

  • Suriname Lawmaker Says Illicits Make Up 75% of Cigarette Market

    Suriname Lawmaker Says Illicits Make Up 75% of Cigarette Market

    Suriname lawmaker Wedprekash Joeloemsingh warned that illicit cigarettes now account for an estimated 75% of the country’s tobacco market, arguing that further tobacco tax increases could accelerate the shift away from legal sales. Joeloemsingh said the government is losing more than SRD 500 million ($13.5 million) in tax revenue due to illegal trade, alleging that cigarettes enter the market through both smuggling and diversion of goods imported as transit shipments. He called on the government to investigate the illicit market and strengthen enforcement rather than relying on additional tax increases.

  • Report:Tax-Free Cigarettes Fuel Illicit Trade Across Indonesia

    Report:Tax-Free Cigarettes Fuel Illicit Trade Across Indonesia

    Indonesia’s tax-free cigarette regime in the Batam, Bintan, and Karimun (BBK) free trade zone is fueling large-scale cigarette smuggling into the country’s customs area, according to observers and enforcement officials. Cigarette manufacturers operating within the BBK are exempt from tobacco excise and value-added tax provided their products are sold within the zone, but authorities say some producers and traders exploit the system by illegally transporting untaxed cigarettes to other parts of Indonesia where tobacco products are subject to excise duties.

    In May, the Batam Customs and Excise Office recorded 11 enforcement actions involving the seizure of 1.3 million illegal cigarettes among 54 smuggling cases. However, experts believe the seizures represent only a fraction of the illicit trade. Suyono Saputra, an economics lecturer at Batam International University, said the loophole differs from traditional illicit cigarette cases elsewhere in Indonesia because the products are legally manufactured and sold within the free trade zone, but become illegal when diverted to the domestic market. He noted that producers can earn substantial profits by smuggling untaxed cigarettes out of Batam, highlighting the challenge authorities face in balancing the benefits of the free trade zone with efforts to curb tax evasion and protect government revenue.

  • Tobacco Price Gap Driving Irish Customers Cross-Border

    Tobacco Price Gap Driving Irish Customers Cross-Border

    Irish consumers are increasingly purchasing tobacco products abroad or through duty-free channels due to significant price differences with mainland Europe, according to new research commissioned by Retailers Against Smuggling (RAS). Survey data of 1,000 adults found that 28% had bought tobacco outside Ireland, with Spain accounting for 48% of those purchases. The group highlighted a sharp excise gap—around €3 per pack in Spain compared to nearly €11 in Ireland—contributing to domestic prices approaching €19 per pack.

    Retailers warned that the price disparity is driving both cross-border purchasing and illicit trade, which now accounts for more than a quarter of the Irish market and is estimated to cost the government €590 million annually in lost revenue. RAS has called for stronger enforcement of existing rules on duty-free and cross-border limits, arguing that current measures must be backed by more visible and targeted action.

  • Ireland Customs Seizes 11M Illegal Cigarettes

    Ireland Customs Seizes 11M Illegal Cigarettes

    Revenue officers in Ireland seized about 11.4 million illicit cigarettes at Dublin Port following a targeted inspection on April 30. The shipment, which arrived from Rotterdam and was declared as cardboard packaging, was flagged through routine risk profiling and uncovered with the assistance of a detector dog and mobile X-ray scanner. The cigarettes, including brands such as Lambert & Butler Silver, Superkings Blue, and Richmond, are estimated to be worth more than €10.8 million, with a potential tax loss to the state of over €8.4 million.

    Authorities said investigations are ongoing and noted the seizure forms part of broader efforts to combat illegal tobacco trade and the shadow economy.

  • Indonesia Seizes 11M Illegal Cigarettes at Border Op

    Indonesia Seizes 11M Illegal Cigarettes at Border Op

    Authorities in Indonesia dismantled a large-scale illegal cigarette trafficking operation in East Nusa Tenggara, seizing approximately 11 million illicit cigarettes with counterfeit excise stamps. The case, uncovered through a joint operation involving police, customs, and immigration officials, highlights ongoing smuggling activity along the Timor Leste border, with estimated state losses exceeding IDR 12 billion ($696,000).

    Investigators said the network smuggled cigarettes by sea into the Atapupu area before distributing them across Timor Island, using multiple storage locations to support the operation. Four foreign suspects were arrested in connection with the case, which officials described as part of a structured, transnational network exploiting border vulnerabilities for large-scale illicit trade.