Smuggler arrested in Capua: 5 quintals of cigarettes seized

The activity of the Guardia di Finanza of Caserta continues without interruption in the fight against the smuggling of foreign manufactured tobacco and the dismantling of the supply networks of illicit goods for subsequent retail sale.

The operational attention of the Capua yellow flames has focused, in particular, on the methods of carrying out the illicit trafficking of cigarettes which, at the end of the criminal chain, are sold, in particular, at local weekly markets.

The investigative activities allowed the arrest of an Italian citizen, active in the Caserta hinterland, and the seizure of approximately 500 kg of TLE following targeted search activities, the sale of which would have generated an undue profit of over 100.000,00 euros.

In this case, the smuggler was stopped by the Capuan finance police on Wednesday as he was preparing to deliver some cases of cigarettes. The search of his vehicle and then of his garage, used as a warehouse, was triggered, where the large quantity of so-called “blondes” was found, stored in neatly stacked boxes ready for delivery.

Therefore, the military, coordinated by the Public Prosecutor's Office of Santa Maria Capua Vetere, arrested the fifty-year-old from Caserta and proceeded to seize the entire load of illicit goods, as well as the car used to transport them.

The operational activity carried out demonstrates the constant attention of the Provincial Command of the Guardia di Finanza of Caserta in repressing the illicit traffic of tobacco products which produces, in terms of unpaid excise duties, pernicious effects on tax revenue and, with reference to the lack of controls in the production chain of contraband cigarettes, potential dangers for the health of final consumers.