Turkish customs units confiscate record 3.3 million packs of smuggled cigarettes
a significant anti-smuggling operation yesterday, customs units confiscated 3.3 million packs of cigarettes on their way into Turkey onboard a ship.
The cigarettes confiscated in the operation are believed to have a market value of TL 28.5 million ($9.85 million), which would bring some TL 23 million in tax revenues if sold legally.
Acting on a tip, customs units followed the ship, which departed from the Magosa port in Turkish Cyprus with a declared route to Ukraine’s Skadovsk port. The ship, which passed through the Bosporus and went on to the Black Sea, was put under surveillance. After cruising off the Ukrainian coast for a while, the ship headed back to Istanbul.
The ship’s operators and crew declared they unloaded the ship’s freight in Ukraine and presented a document that said the same.However, Coast Guard and customs enforcement units boarded the ship and found the cigarette packs on board, which weighed some 100 tons in total.
Related Posts
DRI seizes over 12 kg gold in Kolkata, Siliguri.
Kolkata, July 27 Busting two gold smuggling rackets in Kolkata and Siliguri, the...
Homeland Security helps APD crackdown on fake merchandise
In the last few weeks, investigators with the Austin Police Department have come...
Know how to protect your brand
Counterfeiting is a $600 billion a year problem and it has grown by over 10,000%...
Aussie invention to reveal counterfeit products
Researchers have come up with a way to stop counterfeiting, which is now a...