Large fine for duty-free tobacco in Paphos
A Paphos business owner was fined €4,500 by customs authorities after large quantities of duty-free tobacco products were found during a search, Paphos police said on Friday.
Specifically, the search was carried out on Thursday afternoon by Paphos police officers, members of the drug squad (Ykan), the cybercrime unit, and officers from customs’ pharmaceutical services.
The search was carried out as part of an international operation aimed at combating the illegal trafficking of pharmaceutical products, according to Paphos police spokesman and chief Michalis Nicolaou.
He also mentioned that four properties in Paphos were investigated, with only the one in question found to be problematic.
The search turned up 41 cigarette cartons of various brands, 1,700 grams of tobacco as well as 6,000 heated electronic cigarettes, all of which were seized.
The owner was then arrested for illegal possession and sale of duty-free tobacco products, and fined €4,500, which he paid and was set free.