FIOD seizes 45 million cigarettes in South Holland

The FIOD confiscated about 45 million cigarettes on Thursday during a major operation in South Holland. Three men were also arrested on suspicion of large-scale cigarette smuggling. The FIOD has in particular seized 130,000 euros in cash and two trucks. A truck driver was arrested in Rotterdam.

According to the tax investigation service, a group of criminals smuggled cigarettes into the Netherlands via sea containers, after which they were sold on the Dutch and European markets. Cigarettes are illegal because no sales tax has been paid. According to the FIOD, 11 million euros were taxed in this way.

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A spokesman for the service speaks of a "very big catch". Taking this Thursday represents more than half of what the FIOD has taken throughout 2017. That year, the investigation service took 75 million cigarettes. In 2016, it was even less: 17 million. The increase in seizures can be explained by the fact that the FIOD set up a special team in 2016 to fight against cigarette smuggling.

Last month, an illegal cigarette factory was set up in Lithoijen, Brabant. In a warehouse, the FIOD found 8 million illegal cigarettes. Cigarettes taken by the FIOD are destroyed. The exact size of cigarette smuggling in the Netherlands is hard to say.

According to a study by the accounting firm KPMG, funded by the tobacco industry, 44.7 billion cigarettes were illegally traded in the European Union on an annual basis.