Through Marie Mery
Published on 14 May 21 at 3:49 p.m.
updated on 14 May 21 at 15:49
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Heavy cigarette smuggling has been dismantled in April 2021 by the national gendarmerie. A second legal operation has just enabled the arrest of five wholesalers premises at Nantes (Loire-Atlantique) and Angers (Maine-et-Loire), Monday May 10.
22 million euros in revenue lost by the State
On April 11, four individuals were indicted and placed in pre-trial detention. Five tons of counterfeit cigarettes, 37,300 euros and two vehicles were then seized during searches carried out in Nantes, Rodez and Montpellier in particular.
The investigation established that the traffic had produced the smuggled import of 75 tonnes of cigarettes for an estimated value of 37.5 million euros, ‘ corresponding to a loss of revenue for the State of 22 million euros ”.
Two individuals indicted
Among the five local wholesalers arrested at the start of the week, two were presented to the specialized inter-regional court (JIRS) from Bordeaux. “They were indicted and placed in pre-trial detention,” the gendarmerie said in a statement.
625 cartridges of counterfeit cigarettes, a handgun, 5,115 euros and a vehicle estimated at 16,000 euros were seized during the searches.
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