138 Cases Against Smuggling And Illegal Cross-Border Trade

During the period from October 25 to 31, customs services recorded 138 cases related to combating smuggling and illegal cross-border trade, during which 146 offenders were arrested, according to a statement issued on Monday by the General Directorate of Customs.

The source stated that “in the framework of combating smuggling and illegal cross-border trade, the operational customs teams active across the entire customs territory, including land, sea and air border crossings, in close and tight coordination with various security partners, recorded a significant seizure record during the period from October 25 to 31 of this year.”

This record shows the seizure of 307.6 kg of processed cannabis, 82,452 units of hallucinogenic tablets, an FMPK machine gun, a Kalashnikov machine gun and 110 live rounds.

1208.4 grams of yellow metal were also seized (pending the results of the test), 10,300 euros, 52 million and 557 thousand dinars, 1500 kg of flour, 750 kg of sugar and 1000 kg of pasta, 58,600 liters of fuel, 79,570 packs of cigarettes and 20,920 bags of “snuff”.

In addition, other seized items include mobile phones and accessories, cosmetics and body care products, sensitive equipment, household appliances, food products for human and animal consumption, fruits, alcoholic beverages, household utensils, clothing and shoes, building materials, bicycles, vehicles, spare parts, according to the same source.

The number of  offenders involved in these cases reached 146 people, while the number of means of transport used in smuggling was estimated at 22 vehicles and containers, in addition to violations detected at the level of public transport for passengers, postal parcel inspection centers, services responsible for inspecting passengers through land border crossings, airports and sea stations for transporting passengers at ports, according to the statement, which pointed out that the total fines imposed were estimated at nearly 1 billion dinars.