Authorities have seized a large quantity of illegal cigarettes in Lymbia, valued at around €380,000, just hours after a similar discovery in the Pyla area, raising suspicions that the two cases may be connected.
According to the Customs Department, the discovery follows on the heels of a case yesterday (6 November), where members of the Green Line Monitoring and Control Centre (YAM Headquarters) informed customs officers that during a search in the Athienou–Lymbia area, they found a large quantity of tobacco products in a rented commercial vehicle driven by a 51-year-old Turkish Cypriot man.
Specifically, officers discovered 128 cartons, each containing 50 boxes (a total of 6,400 boxes of 200 cigarettes each). The products did not display the required health warnings in Greek and Turkish, nor did they bear security markings or traceability codes- clear signs that the cigarettes were untaxed.
Customs officials went to the Pera Chorio Police Station, where the vehicle and suspect had been taken, and after counting the cigarettes, they proceeded to seize both the products and the vehicle used for transport. The driver was arrested for offences committed in flagrante delicto and is expected to appear before the Nicosia District Court today for a remand order.
The excise and tax duties for the seized products are estimated to exceed €380,000. The case is under further investigation by the Nicosia Customs Office in cooperation with the Larnaca Customs Office to determine whether the two cases are connected due to their similarities.
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