BUDAPEST, Nov 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Hungary’s customs officials seized a record 2.8 million boxes of untaxed cigarettes, in Tolna County (southern Hungary). The retail value of the haul exceeds 5.3 billion Hungarian forints (16.8 million U.S. dollars).
“On Oct 11, our patrols witnessed the unloading of a barge at one of the ports in Tolna County,” Imre Drabos, lieutenant colonel of the Hungarian Tax Authority (NAV) said, at a press conference here, yesterday.
“The barge was carrying a thousand tonne of table salt, stored in 25-kilogram bags, which were placed in 750 larger bags for easier loading,” Drabos explained, adding that, the customs officials found cartons of cigarettes in one of the large bags.
The ensuing investigation, conducted in cooperation with Europol, the European Union’s (EU) law enforcement agency, led the authorities to a depot in Pest County (central Hungary), where they found the bulk of the untaxed cigarettes.
Drabos said that the cigarettes were genuine, produced in legally operating factories, and were meant to be exported to third countries, and sold on the black market.
Four people have been arrested and charged with budget fraud and money laundering, according to Drabos. (1 U.S. dollar = 312.26 Hungarian forints)– NNN-AGENCIES
