An older contraband tobacco seizure in Le Havre.

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ROBERT FRANCOIS / AFP

Eleven men were arrested and 6,000 cartons of counterfeit cigarettes seized as part of an investigation into a major network of contraband cigarettes in Montargis (Loiret), we learned Friday from a police source.

The searches led to the seizure of cartons of cigarettes, with a resale value of 300,000 to 350,000 euros, the same source said.

Eight vehicles, 85 kg of rolling tobacco and 39,000 euros in cash were seized.

Tobacco and cigarettes came from Eastern Europe, it was said.

The Interministerial Research Group (GIR) and the Interregional Directorate of the Judicial Police of Orléans, which were investigating under the authority of the Montargis Public Prosecutor Loïc Abrial, updated a structured network of tobacco trafficking with the Eastern Europe.

Thanks to several months of surveillance, the Research and Intervention Brigade (BRI) and the PJ of Orléans were able to identify suppliers, logisticians and resellers of this network who were operating in Montargois.

Interpellations in two waves

A judicial investigation for fraud by an organized gang, importation of contraband tobacco, aggravated money laundering and criminal association, was thus opened by the Montargis prosecutor's office at the end of July.

In this context, the arrests were organized in two waves.

On Wednesday, eight men aged between 21 and 40, of French and Armenian nationality, were arrested in Loiret.

Six were presented before an investigating judge and placed in pre-trial detention on Friday evening, said Loïc Abrial.

Friday, two trucks were also intercepted in Saint-Thibault-des-Vignes (Seine-et-Marne) and three drivers were arrested.

The three men, of Polish nationality, were in police custody on Friday evening.

“There is an important public health dimension to this issue.

It is not known how these cigarettes are made, which are potentially dangerous to health.

This was a lucrative and structured traffic, which had prospered since the start of 2020, ”said Loïc Abrial.

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  • Cigarette

  • Smuggling

  • Loiret

  • Miscellaneous

  • Traffic

  • Tobacco