Turkey nets record haul of illicit cigarettes

Turkish police have seized 3.5 million packs of cigarettes hidden on trucks arriving from Georgia, according to an Agence France Presse story.

Five trucks loaded with the cigarettes were seized at the Black Sea border post of Sarp on Tuesday following a three-month undercover operation, the customs ministry said in a statement.

‘When the smuggled cigarettes were seized in the operation, the largest shipment of smuggled cigarettes in Turkey’s history was prevented,’ it said.

The illicit cigarettes were said to have been worth an estimated Lira22 million (US$7.9 million).

Fifteen suspects, including five customs officers, drivers and dealers were arrested.