Albanian customs seize 892 thousand smuggling cigarettes packages

 Hani Hotit Customs checkpoint

 Albanian Customs officers seized an amount of 892 thousand packages of cigarettes at the Hani Hotit Border Crossing Point.

Following a risk analysis and reasonable doubts, the customs authorities exercised control over the suspect vehicle, which resulted in a consignment of 892,000 packages of President Slims branded cigarettes.

The whole cigarette load was not equipped with fiscal stamps of Albania or any other country.

If this commodity were to be placed on the market, the value of the customs duty payable would amount to ALL 140 million.

The entire amount has been seized and the case was referred to the Prosecutor's Office of the First Instance Court of Shkodra for the criminal offense of "Smuggling of Goods Paying Excise ...” provided by Articles 172 and 190/3 of the Criminal Code.

Further investigative actions are being carried out in co-operation with the Prosecutor's Office of the First Instance Court of Shkodra.

This is not the first recent case of smuggling goods, especially for excise goods.

A similar case happened just a month ago.