GNR dismantles eastern European tobacco smuggling network

The GNR has seized more than 75,000 cigarettes and nabbed four people on suspicion of involvement in a cigarette smuggling network which has deprived the Portuguese Treasury of an estimated €680,000.

The police operation took place in the Setúbal and Faro as ten houses were raided as a result of a year’s investigation into a smuggling operation with its roots in Eastern Europe.

The tobacco originated from Belarus and is valued at around €15,000, but the GNR said the smugggling carried out by this group had cost the State around €680,000 due to the non-payment of VAT and the Special Tax on Tobacco.

The tobacco was purchased in several Eastern European countries, smuggled into Portugal and "sold on the parallel market at prices below those on the domestic market."

The GNR also seized about €50,000 in cash, two computers, a tablet, eight mobile phones and various documents.

The four defendants, aged between 38 and 56, have been arrested for smuggling, fraudulent supply for consumption, criminal association and tax fraud.

The police operation was led by the Unit of Fiscal Action, through their divisions in Faro and Lisbon and had the support of the Faro GNR and the Public Security Police in Faro and Setúbal.

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