Authorities Seize 3.8 Million Counterfeit Cigarettes at Mexico Customs; Shipment Came From Singapore

Authorities seized nearly four million counterfeit cigarettes in two separate operations at Mexico City International Airport and the port of Lázaro Cárdenas in Michoacán.

At the airport, Mexican Navy personnel working with customs officials found a shipment containing 3,839,000 irregular cigarettes. The cargo came from Singapore and was bound for Mexico. It had initially been declared as speakers, but a non-intrusive inspection showed that the goods did not match the documents.

The operation resulted in the seizure of 191,990 packs, totaling more than 3.8 million cigarettes. According to the report, it was the third shipment from Singapore bound for Mexico to be identified in this way.

In the second operation, the National Customs Agency and naval personnel examined an import shipment at Lázaro Cárdenas that had been declared as glassware from Hong Kong. Documentary and operational checks identified 15,692 counterfeit cigarettes in the cargo.

The total seizure amounted to about 3,854,692 cigarettes, with an estimated weight of 15.6 tonnes. The Navy said the actions followed intelligence indicating that illicit tobacco products might be entering Mexico to evade the country’s tax and customs regulations.