Paphos, Cyprus. A British couple was arrested by customs officials at Paphos Airport on Wednesday after a search of their luggage uncovered 215 cartons of smuggled cigarettes, the Customs Department said on Thursday. The couple was later released after agreeing to pay €12,900 in an out-of-court settlement.
Cigarettes found in luggage
The couple, aged 29 and 27, had been due to fly to Bournemouth, United Kingdom, with their four-year-old child.
Customs officials found the cigarettes in three pieces of luggage. The haul totalled 215 cartons, with 200 cigarettes in each carton, or 43,000 cigarettes in total.
According to a press release, the cigarette packages did not carry the usual health warnings in Greek and Turkish and did not have the security feature or the unique traceability code.
Customs assessment
The Customs Department said the duty-free cigarettes had not been obtained through legal means and that no taxes had been paid on them.
It said the cigarettes would normally be subject to significant excise duties in both Cyprus and the United Kingdom, as the quantity found exceeded the United Kingdom’s personal allowance for travellers.
The couple’s luggage and its contents were confiscated before they were released under the €12,900 settlement agreement.
Pesticides seized at crossing point
In the same press release, the Customs Department said pesticides were also confiscated on Wednesday from a Greek Cypriot driver seeking to return from the north at the Astromeritis-Zodias crossing point.
During a routine inspection, officials found a 1,000-millilitre container of liquid pesticide and a 400-gram container of powdered pesticide. The press release said the pesticides will be destroyed in accordance with established procedures.
