Cigarette smuggling at Swiss airports at an all-time high
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Cigarette smuggling at Swiss airports at an all-time high
Cigarette smuggling at Swiss airports increased sharply in 2024 compared to the previous year. Customs officials discovered 880,000 undeclared cigarettes, compared to 690,000 the previous year.
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The focal point of smuggling in 2024 was Geneva Airport. Over 700,000 undeclared cigarettes were discovered there, as reported by the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS) on Tuesday.
In most cases, the cigarettes were apparently intended for sale in France. The cigarettes seized in 2023 and 2024 came mainly from Turkey, Egypt, Ethiopia and the Republic of the Congo.
Customs officials in Geneva discovered several cases of large-scale cigarette smuggling, particularly at the turn of the year. On 7 February, for example, customs stopped two travellers from Egypt.
The first, a 35-year-old Egyptian, wanted to smuggle around 44,840 cigarettes – more than 220 cartons – into Switzerland. The second, a 25-year-old Greek man, had 47,360 cigarettes – more than 235 cartons – in his luggage, which he had not declared.
Fines, entry bans, imprisonment
According to FOCA, all foreign couriers stopped while travelling were fined for violations of the Customs Act, the Value Added Tax Act and the Tobacco Tax Act. As commercial smuggling was established in the cases in which cigarettes were not reported, an application was made to the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) for each person to be banned from entering Switzerland.
FOCA also points out that the fines imposed on the couriers are systematically converted into days in prison if they are not paid. The cigarettes were destroyed.
Translated from German with DeepL/mga
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