On November 6, Cyprus Customs officers detained two vans carrying 10,350 smuggled cartons of cigarettes. According to calculations by customs officials, if tobacco products had ended up on the black market, the state treasury would have missed out on 620,000 euros in excise duty. On the same day, authorities detained a car at a checkpoint carrying about 200 kg of animal bones and skin. The driver explained that the cargo was intended “for food.”
Tobacco products
The first car with smuggled cigarettes was stopped near the village of Pyla. The rented van was driven by a 26-year-old Israeli citizen. It was carrying 3,950 cartons of 200 cigarettes each. The cigarette packs did not contain any messages in Greek or Turkish about the dangers of smoking, nor a unique code to help track the movement of goods.
The second van was detained in the Afienou-Limpia area near the Green Line. It was driven by a 51-year-old Turkish Cypriot. Authorities confiscated 6,400 cartons of cigarettes. According to Alpha TV channel, 20 days ago the detainee and his sister tried to illegally transport tobacco products through the buffer zone. The driver paid a 20,000 euro fine. Illegal tobacco was confiscated.
Both detainees on November 6 were left under arrest for seven days while the investigation was conducted. Police believe that both the Turkish Cypriot and the Israeli belong to the same group of smugglers who transport tobacco from the occupied territories of Cyprus to Israel.
Skin and bones
On November 6, at the Agios Dometios checkpoint in Nicosia, the customs service stopped a car for inspection. 200 kg of animal bones and skin were found in the trunk. The Turkish Cypriot driver said that the bones and skin were intended “for food for Africans living in Cyprus.” The driver agreed to pay an out-of-court fine of 600 euros. A month ago, they tried to import 300 kg of offal through the checkpoint using the same car.
Photo
: Τμήμα Τελωνείων Κύπρου - Customs Cyprus Facebook page
