Spectacular seizure by customs officers from the Paris-Beauvais airport brigade this Sunday, early in the evening. On the flight from Rome (Italy), customs officers seized 885 cartons of cigarettes distributed among the 17 suitcases of five passengers.
“For the record, when the five people concerned noticed that their luggage was going to be checked, they went to hide in the toilets,” says Michaël Lachaux, regional director of customs in Picardy. They voluntarily let their luggage move around, hoping that the customs officers would take it away. » It was therefore by searching the arrivals area that customs officers discovered the owners of the luggage.
“This coordinated action to hide demonstrates that we were dealing with a criminal organization, with mules, and not with travelers of opportunity,” underlines the director of customs. The organization sends several travelers with full suitcases, which corresponds to a just-in-time, high-volume supply to supply the parallel market with contraband American Legend brand cigarettes. This is the case this time, even if the couple assured that they did not know the man of Egyptian origin who was traveling with his two sons. »
The latter, aged 54, declared that he worked as an import-export entrepreneur. “He was already unfavorably known to the customs services for having committed five similar offenses,” specifies Michaël Lachaux. It was he who was transporting nearly 4,000 packs of cigarettes, which were immediately seized by customs officers. The judicialization of this case is an important element. »
1.3 tonnes of tobacco seized since the start of the year
Tried this Tuesday by the Beauvais judicial court, the man was sentenced “to a 5,000 euro customs fine, a six-month suspended prison sentence and a ban on French territory for three years. » “He will no longer be able to carry out his trafficking,” Michaël Lachaux underlines with satisfaction. If he tries again, he will be turned away before even taking a plane to France. »
This control was not at all random. “Since last March, when we seconded a customs brigade to the airport, we can better anticipate the flights to be monitored by studying passenger information sheets,” explains Michaël Lachaux. Traffickers’ techniques are becoming more and more sophisticated. There are now bounce flights to lose control services. For example, they will take a flight from Amman (Jordan) to Greece, then another from Greece to Italy and a last one from Italy to France. »
Since the start of the year, the Beauvais customs brigade has already “seized 1.3 tonnes of various tobacco products during its checks”.
