A routine Armed Forces of Malta sea patrol yielded almost 4,000 cartons of smuggled cigarettes and tobacco on Thursday.

The discovery was made following a boarding operation on a Malta-registered fishing boat, an official statement said.

When AFM personnel boarded the vessel, they noted significant amounts of tobacco “clearly not intended for the personal consumption of the crew”, the statement said.

Police and Customs officers were alerted as the boat was escorted to the Grand Harbour.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.