Major success for customs investigators: 1.5 million cigarettes seized
Hanover/Europe - A customs investigation team has made a huge catch in several European ports : A total of 1.5 million untaxed and uncleared cigarettes in 150 containers were confiscated.

A smuggling ring that smuggled cigarettes into the EU for years, sold them at a profit and caused tax losses of almost 550 million euros has now been uncovered thanks to a cross-border team of investigators, the so-called "Joint Investigation Team".
According to a press release from the Hanover Customs Investigation Office, customs investigators from Belgium, the Netherlands and Hanover worked closely together to pursue the illegal trade and then struck. The investigators have now scored a decisive hit against the criminal network.
On January 28, the public prosecutor's office in Bielefeld finally issued arrest warrants for a total of ten suspects. At the same time, 15 searches were carried out to secure further evidence.
According to investigations, the smuggled cigarettes came from manufacturing plants in Turkey and Iran. They were exported worldwide and transhipped in ports before being smuggled into EU ports under false pretenses.

The first investigations began back in 2020

In May 2020, Belgian customs investigators received information about three containers, allegedly full of building materials, which had been transported to Duisburg via Belgium and picked up there by a logistics company involved.
But appearances were deceptive: two of the containers were stuffed to the brim with cigarettes.
When the investigators struck at a warehouse near Moers, they arrested six suspects - including a transport company and a man who had organized the deliveries.
The proceedings ended with convictions and prison sentences of several years.