Customs seize cigarettes, alcohol

About 190 cartons containing 200 cigarettes each and 306 bottles of alcohol were confiscated by Customs officials from a wine cellar and a van over the past days.

Customs duty and excise tax involved in the haul amounted to over Lm4,000, the Customs Department said.

The alcohol and cigarettes were found in a Toyota van and a garage in Lija, belonging to the same owner, it said, adding that the vehicle was confiscated in terms of the law.

The cigarette brands were Superkings, Regal, Dunhill, Silk Cut and Marlboro. The impounded alcohol included J&B whisky and Gordon's gin.

In a separate raid, following an inspection carried out in Luqa, small amounts of smuggled alcohol (vodka and whisky) and Raquel, Benson & Hedges, Rothman's, Dunhill, Silk Cut and Businessman cigarettes were found.

The Customs Department said that in the first few days of the new year it continued were it left off last year with its work against all types of smuggling and the evasion of Customs duty and excise.

After several days of observation at the end of last year, the movements of individuals and a suspicious van in the Qawra and St Paul's Bay area were noted, it said. The work paid off and led to the big haul.

It was suspected that the van could have been involved in some form of smuggling, the Customs Department said. This led officials to carry out a search in a wine cellar, which, however, resulted negative. But a search of the van, belonging to the owner of the wine cellar, revealed the cigarettes on which neither Customs duty nor excise had been paid.

The police were informed and, together with Customs officials, they searched the garage in Lija, where alcohol was found.

Police investigations are being led by Inspector Kevin Borg.