Updated 3.10pm

Two separate containers full of contraband cigarettes have been seized by Customs officials at the Malta Freeport.

The first container, a 40-foot long one arriving from Turkey en route to Spain, was carrying 10.9 million 'Toros' cigarettes. Its contents had been declared as plastic bags.

A second container, arriving from Ukraine en route to the UK, was found to contain 10 million 'President' cigarettes hidden behind a load of pipe connections.

Customs officials have cracked down on contraband cigarettes in recent months, seizing and shredding millions of black market cigarettes as part of their concerted operation.

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