Armenian customs officers uncover 117 cases of cigarette smuggling from Iran in 2023

YEREVAN, February 2. /ARKA/. Armenia's State Revenue Committee (SRC) has revealed several cases of illegal import of cigarettes from Iran, the agency's press service reported.

On January 15, during customs inspection of a truck carrying cement from Iran to Armenia customs officers in Meghri suspected that cigarettes might be hidden in it. The truck was sent to the customs control zone for a more detailed inspection, as a result of which 2,500 boxes of cigarettes were found in the side aluminum profiles of the trailer.

Also, , on January 21, an inspection of a Georgian truck transporting metal products to Armenia from Iran resulted in the discovery of 1,900 boxes of cigarettes in a cache and under a layer of laminate attached to the front wall of the trailer.

In 2023 Meghri customs officers detected 117 cases of smuggling and undeclared import of 56,795 boxes of cigarettes from Iran. In addition, they also revealed 4 cases of exporting 4,950 boxes of heated cigarette capsules and 50 electronic devices for them from Armenia to Iran.

"Various tricks and methods are used to illegally transport cigarettes from Iran to Armenia, in particular, caches installed in advance in trucks and buses are used, and cargoes imported by companies engaged in legal activities are used as a cover. Private individuals sometimes hide cigarettes on their bodies or in their luggage," the agency said. -0-