Customs department seizes contraband tobacco

Contraband cigarette tobacco and the vehicles used to transport it illegally from the north to the Republic have been seized in the last few days by the customs department, it announced on Friday.

On Sunday, officers from the Paphos customs department were notified by the police that, following a search of a vehicle driven by a Bulgarian national, a quantity of tobacco products was discovered.

The search resulted in the seizure of ten cartons, each containing 200 cigarettes, and 500g of rolling tobacco.

The products did not carry the required health warnings in Greek and Turkish, nor did they have the necessary security features and unique traceability codes, indicating tax had not been paid on them.

The driver was arrested, and the vehicle was also confiscated as it was used to transport the products.

He was later released after paying €800 for an out-of-court settlement, while the vehicle was returned to him upon payment of an additional €300.

In a separate incident on Wednesday, Paphos customs officers were again alerted by the police about the discovery of tobacco products in a vehicle driven by a Syrian national.

The search led to the confiscation of seven cartons, each containing 200 cigarettes, 750g of rolling tobacco, and 500g of hookah tobacco.

Similarly to the previous case, the products lacked the required health warnings, security features, and traceability codes, marking them as not having had tax paid.

The driver was arrested, and the vehicle used to transport the tobacco and cigarettes was also seized. He was later released after paying €1,500 for an out-of-court settlement, while his vehicle was returned upon payment of an additional €500.