Customs seize cigarettes

Customs officials seized over seven million cigarettes from a container that was documented as containing decorative glass being delivered from the Far East to Algiers.

The Customs Department is now investigating whether the cigarettes were counterfeit, a spokesman said.

It was the 33rd container intercepted this year by Customs after irregularities were detected during routine checks. These mainly contained goods that did not tally with the document accompanying the container and which were later found to be counterfeit. Three of the containers contained counterfeit cigarettes.

The spokesman said this latest suspect container was checked after an X-ray scan revealed it could contain different items to those declared.

Indeed, when the container was opened at the Freeport, the first four rows of boxes contained decorative glass but further back the Customs officials found black plastic bags containing boxes filled with the packets of Gaulousis cigarettes.

More investigations are in progress.