{"id":573542,"date":"2026-09-03T17:31:58","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T14:31:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reform.news\/?p=573542"},"modified":"2026-09-03T17:35:03","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T14:35:03","slug":"6-7-million-packs-of-smuggled-cigarettes-imported-from-belarus-seized-in-moscow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/6-7-million-packs-of-smuggled-cigarettes-imported-from-belarus-seized-in-moscow","title":{"rendered":"6.7 Million Packs of Smuggled Cigarettes Imported from Belarus Seized in Moscow"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Employees of Russia\u2019s Central Operational Customs Office have stopped a channel for the illegal import of tobacco products from Belarus. The Federal Customs Service reported<\/a> that 6.7 million packs of unlabeled cigarettes worth more than 1 billion Russian rubles in total were discovered at a warehouse in Moscow.<\/p>\n

The tobacco products were transported by rail under the guise of electrical conductors. At the warehouse, the cigarettes in the containers were covered with empty boxes.<\/p>\n

A 35-year-old native of Azerbaijan is identified as the organizer of the scheme. The man admitted that he knew the shipment was illegal and planned to sell the cigarettes in Russia.<\/p>\n

A criminal case has been opened under Part 1 of Article 226.1 of the Russian Criminal Code concerning the smuggling of strategically important goods on a large scale. The maximum penalty is up to five years in prison.<\/p>\n

The suspect\u2019s home and office were searched. He has been placed in a pre-trial detention center. Investigators are identifying the other participants in the scheme.<\/p>\n

Moscow customs officials stop cigarette smuggling worth more than 1 billion rubles<\/p>\n