Malta intelligence leads to Livorno cigarettes haul

A recent haul of nine million counterfeit cigarettes in the Italian port of Livorno was the result of intelligence by the Maltese Customs, the Customs Department said today.

It explained that last November, Customs officers inspected a container at Malta Freeport whose cargo was declared as being cigarettes.

It resulted that the first cartons near the container door were genuine cigarettes, albeit made some nine years ago. The rest of the container, however, was loaded with some nine million counterfeit cigarettes. The consignment was seized.

Investigations revealed that a similar consignment may be on its way to Livorno, and Malta Customs therefore notified the EU Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) in December.

This information turned out to be vital for the interception of the container-load of cigarettes in Livorno, which was given prominence by the Italian media. The Livorno container was similarly loaded with genuine cigarettes on the front, and counterfeit cigarettes inside.