Azerbaijani ship officers arrested in NIS 7 million cigarette smuggling bust

Israeli police and customs authorities have successfully thwarted a major cigarette smuggling operation valued at approximately NIS 7 million (about $1.9 million) off the coast of Ashdod. The bust occurred on Sunday when maritime police intercepted smugglers working in cooperation with merchant ships.

During the operation, police discovered that 4,000 cartons of cigarettes, estimated to be worth NIS 2 million, were being loaded onto a speedboat for illicit entry into the country. The captain and first officer of the supply ship, both Azerbaijani nationals, were apprehended and taken in for questioning by Ashdod customs officials. As law enforcement closed in, the smugglers attempted to dispose of the evidence by throwing the cigarette boxes into the sea, though police managed to recover the abandoned contraband.

Following the initial interception, police located and seized the suspected vessel that had supplied the smugglers. Further cigarette goods were recovered from the ship, bringing the total estimated value of the confiscated items to NIS 7 million. The investigation into the smuggling ring is ongoing, with authorities also referencing a recent seizure of NIS 20 million in smuggled cigarettes in the West Bank last month, which also originated through the port of Ashdod.