Cyprus Customs has seized a significant quantity of tobacco products at the Deryneia crossing, warning of a concerning increase in tobacco smuggling involving Israeli nationals over the past two months.
According to the Customs Department, the individuals involved are mainly transporting tobacco products from the occupied areas through the Republic of Cyprus, with the intended destination being Israel.
Customs officials believe a specific network may be operating to channel cigarettes from the occupied areas through the Republic of Cyprus to Israel, using a method known as “ant smuggling”.
‘Ant smuggling’ method
Customs said that following two major seizures in February and November 2025, which initially indicated that the network was transporting tobacco products by boats and ships from Cyprus towards Israel, the operation appears to have shifted to the “ant smuggling” method.
This involves smugglers avoiding the movement of large consignments at once. Instead, multiple people each carry small quantities over repeated journeys, making it more difficult for authorities to detect the activity.
Seizures involving Israeli nationals increase
According to Customs statistics, seizures of tobacco products at crossing points involving Israeli nationals accounted for 14% of all such seizures in June.
This represented 41 out of 288 seizures, while cigarettes seized in these cases accounted for 30% of the total, with 22,080 cigarettes out of 72,620.
In July, the proportion increased to 24.5%, with 46 out of 188 tobacco seizures involving Israeli nationals.
The number of cigarettes seized in these cases was almost half of the total, at 20,980 out of 42,050 cigarettes.
15 cigarette cartons found in luggage
In the latest case, Customs officers carrying out routine checks under the Green Line Regulation at the Deryneia crossing stopped a Turkish Cypriot taxi on 12 August.
The vehicle was carrying an Israeli national who was travelling to Larnaca Airport.
During a search of the passenger’s luggage, officers found 15 cartons containing 200 cigarettes each, as well as three one-kilogram packages of shisha tobacco.
The products did not bear the required health warnings in Greek and Turkish, nor the security feature and unique traceability code, indicating that they were duty-free products.
€2,000 settlement
The tobacco products were seized and will undergo the prescribed destruction procedure.
The individual was initially arrested for offences committed in flagrante delicto but was later released after a proposal for an out-of-court settlement was accepted.
A payment of €2,000 was made to settle the case.
Customs said the latest seizure highlights the “worryingly increasing trend” observed over the past two months involving Israeli nationals who allegedly smuggle mainly tobacco products from the occupied areas for onward transportation to Israel.
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