Belgian customs officials have seized nearly six million cigarettes and cut tobacco this week, arresting seven individuals from Russia and Ukraine.
The seizures took place during raids in various locations in Antwerp and East Flanders on Wednesday and Thursday. The operations were part of an investigation into the production, distribution and storage of illegal cigarettes.
The illegal goods were discovered in warehouses in Lier, Bazel, and Merksem. The unpaid taxes on the items totalled more than €2.7 million. The local police in Lier first noticed a suspicious warehouse, leading customs officers to investigate and identify four more questionable sites.
An illegal production facility was also dismantled in Hulst, the Netherlands, resulting in the detention of three individuals.
So far this year, Belgian customs have confiscated over 80 million cigarettes.
