Belgium: vast operation aimed at the counterfeit of cigarettes

Belgian customs conducted on Wednesday an operation aimed at the counterfeiting of cigarettes of unprecedented magnitude in the country, during which several clandestine production sites were closed and 45 people arrested.The country has become a hub for cigarette trafficking, for neighboring countries.

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In an industrial zone of Aartselaar, along an artery leading to the port city of Antwerp, the customs officers arrested 17 people of Ukrainian or Bulgarian nationality during a descent before dawn in a clandestine workshop.Men were housed in a dilapidated dormitory in the warehouse, working by relay to dry tobacco and pass it in rolling machines.

"This warehouse works 24 hours a day, and the workers do not come out of it, so as not to give a sign of suspicious activity in the vicinity," said Florence Angelici, spokesperson for the Belgian Ministry of Finance."And so they are going to sleep, work, eat, take their shower on the spot, without going out for weeks, even months," she added.A large stock of cigarettes was ready to go for the United Kingdom, in packages imitating those of major brands and displaying health warnings in this country.

"A lot of money"

A total of four illegal production sites have been discovered, as well as several sites used for logistics, to grind tobacco or store cigarette paper, filters and glue.The workshops, in addition to Aartselaar, were in Tongres (East), Eeklo (North) and Frasnes-lez-Anvaing (west), locations allowing easily access to the British, French and Dutch markets.A total of 45 people were arrested, some of which were already known for similar offenses in other European states, the finance ministry said in a statement on Wednesday evening, adding that "most" were of Ukrainian nationality.

According to a "first estimate", more than 28 million cigarettes have been seized, but the inventory is still underway, adds the ministry.Smuggling cigarettes were sold under Marlboro, Richmond, Prince and Regina brands.The number of counterfeit cigarettes production sites closed by the Belgian authorities now has been seven since the start of the year, compared to five for 2020.More than 400 million illicit cigarettes were seized by Belgian customs last year, against 110 million in 2018 in 2018.Present during the operation on Wednesday, the general administrator of Belgian customs, Kristian Vanderwaeren, describes her as the most important ever led by her administration.

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"The black sale (cigarettes) reports a lot of money, since taxes are very high," he explains.Here "a pack of cigarettes costs around 8 euros, and on this sum, six to seven euros are excise and VAT".Contraband cigarette packs sell 4 to 5 euros."Half price cigarettes, they are not legal cigarettes, and the product, whether tobacco or filter, does not comply with" health standards, "warns Kristian Vanderwaeren, whose services work with thoseof around twenty other European countries to track down the networks involved in this illegal trade.In addition, sales "fuel criminal organizations, which subsequently use this money to organize women's trafficking, drug trafficking", warns the manager.

»To see also - in Belgium, dismantling of a vast network of production of counterfeit cigarettes