Customs seize 8 containers of smuggled cigarettes worth over 200 million shekels at Ashdod port

Israeli customs officers at Ashdod port seized at least eight containers of smuggled cigarettes valued at over 200 million shekels, hidden among shipments of wheat flour from Egypt. The importer was arrested and remanded.

Customs inspectors and investigators at the Port of Ashdod seized a massive smuggling operation of at least 8 containers containing hundreds of thousands of cigarette packs worth more than 200 million shekels. This is one of the largest tobacco smuggling operations ever uncovered, and the tax that would have been paid to the state treasury had the cigarettes been legally imported is estimated at tens of millions of shekels. The cigarettes arrived at the port as part of 3 shipments of 48 containers from Egypt that were declared to contain wheat flour. Inspection revealed that only some of the containers held flour, while others were full of cigarettes. Following the discovery, an investigation was opened by the Drug and Customs Unit in Ashdod. The importer in whose name the import was made was brought to the Magistrate's Court in Ashkelon and his detention was extended. The director of the Customs House at the Port of Ashdod, Gil Haziz, said: "This is the largest smuggling operation I have ever seen, possibly the largest that customs has ever uncovered. Had it not been thwarted, it would have caused a loss of revenue to the state and harmed the Israeli economy, and there is also concern that some of the cigarettes were intended for smuggling into the Gaza Strip, for money laundering and terror financing."