Customs Seize 34 Cartons of Illegal Tobacco at Dole-Jura Airport on Morocco Flight

The operation carried out last Wednesday at Dole-Jura Airport in Tavaux proved fruitful. Customs officers seized 34 cartons (mostly red Marlboro) for 150 travelers. "It’s not the first time I’ve carried three cartons at the airport," testifies one of them, a report in hand, "they sell them in lots of three in Marrakech!". "The sellers told us it was good..." comments another person.

On Wednesday, passengers on the Marrakech-Dole flight had been asked to open their suitcases, the customs officers being entrusted with the following mission: to remind travelers of the ban on crossing the border with more than one carton of cigarettes. "The purpose of this operation is to inform travelers so that they do not find themselves in unpleasant situations when they return from their holidays," explained Yasmina Pomathios, head of the Economic Action Pole at the Regional Customs Directorate, to Le Progrès.

According to Jean-Marc Vauchez, director of the Lons-le-Saunier Brigade, there are tobacco supplies from Morocco, the Netherlands, Spain and Eastern European countries. "Some criminal organizations are financing themselves with tobacco trafficking," he warns, noting that 100 cartons generate a profit of 1,700 euros. "If most do it every week, we are undermining tobacconists," added the official, specifying that 20% of the seized tobacco is counterfeit.