Huge quantities of duty-free cigarettes and tobacco products were located and confiscated yesterday in Limassol, following a joint operation by the Police and the Customs Department. To facilitate the investigations, a 57-year-old man was arrested and detained.
Specifically around 10.30 p.m. Yesterday, members of the Police, who were on a motorized patrol, spotted a car moving suspiciously on a street in Limassol. Police followed the suspicious vehicle, which was parked outside a building complex in Limassol. The members of the Police then approached the 57-year-old driver of the vehicle, who did not give sufficient explanations for his presence there.
A subsequent search revealed a key inside the 57-year-old's vehicle, which was found to be opening the warehouse door, located in the building.
This was followed by a search of the specific warehouse by members of the Police and officials of the Customs Department, in which huge quantities of duty-free tobacco products and money were located and confiscated.
Specifically, a cash amount of € 6,920, a number of checks for the cash amount of € 1,630 and a cash amount of 102,890 Turkish pounds were found.
From the counting of tobacco products, it was found that inside the warehouse there were 975 kilos and 850 grams of tobacco, 749,520 cigarettes and 81,400 heated cigarettes. The value of the confiscated tobacco products amounts to € 51,855, while the taxes and duties that should have been paid are estimated at € 341,175.
The 57-year-old was arrested by officials of the Customs Department for the self-inflicted crime of illegal possession of duty-free tobacco products and was detained to facilitate investigations.
The Limassol TAE and the Customs Department are investigating the case.
