Luxembourg Customs intercepted a large consignment of counterfeit cigarettes on the A6 motorway

At the end of April, Luxembourg Customs officers (Zollverwaltung) carried out a successful operation to disrupt a major tobacco trafficking channel. It started with a routine check on the A6 motorway in the Capellen area of Luxembourg.

The inspectors, accompanied by a service dog, stopped a German car with two young Syrian nationals in it. The behaviour of the passengers and the cargo part of the car aroused suspicion: nine large cardboard boxes were neatly stacked in the boot.

The drivers claimed to be carrying no illegal goods, but an in-depth inspection confirmed otherwise: inside were 450 blocks of counterfeit Marlboro Gold cigarettes - a total of 90,023 cigarettes without excise stamps. All the products were undeclared and illegal, in direct violation of Luxembourg's tax and customs laws.

The counterfeit consignment was immediately seized. The responsibility for further investigation lies with the Excise Bureau (Akzisenbüro), where the case will be dealt with administratively and possibly criminally. For the time being, an internal investigation is underway and no formal charges have yet been brought against the drivers.

Luxembourg is a country with high excise taxes on tobacco products, making it vulnerable to transit and retail smuggling. The Zollverwaltung has tightened controls at key highways and borders in recent years, especially following a surge in shipments of counterfeit cigarettes from Eastern Europe.