On September 9, 2026, officials from the Customs Department, as part of their routine inspections to enforce the Green Line Regulation at the Deryneia Crossing Point, stopped a vehicle with Turkish Cypriot license plates, driven by a Turkish Cypriot holding a British passport, for inspection.
During the inspection of the vehicle, three pieces of luggage were found containing 127 cartons of cigarettes each, which did not bear the warning labels about the dangers of smoking in Greek and Turkish, nor did they have the security feature or the unique traceability code, indicating that they were untaxed.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
The tobacco products were seized and will undergo the prescribed destruction procedure. The suspect was initially arrested for the offenses committed in flagrante delicto, but was later released after his proposal for an out-of-court settlement of the cases was accepted, with the payment of a total of €8,000.
Also on September 9, 2026, as part of an investigation based on a tip, officials from the Customs Department, in cooperation with the Police (Larnaca OPE), conducted a search, pursuant to a court warrant, at the residence of a 69-year-old Greek Cypriot in the Larnaca district.
During the search of the residence, the following quantity of tobacco products was located and seized; these products did not bear the warning about the dangers of smoking in Greek and Turkish, nor did they bear the security feature or the unique traceability code—indications that they were untaxed:
• 113 cartons, each containing 200 cigarettes, of various brands
• 18 cartons, each containing 200 heated cigarettes
• 2 cartons, each containing 200 small cigars
• Packages of tobacco of various brands with a total weight of 4 kilograms and 450 grams
The suspect was arrested on the spot for customs offenses. The case is being further investigated by the Larnaca Customs Department.
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