Flight passenger stopped at MIA with 120 cartons of undeclared cigarettes

A passenger landing in Malta from Istanbul was stopped by customs official at the Malta International Airport after he failed to declare the content of his luggage, which turned out to include some 120 cartons of cigarettes.

In a statement, the Customs Department said that the passenger, a Latvian national, was caught with the undeclared cigarettes during routine checks.

Each of the carton contained 200 cigarettes, amounting to a total of 24,000 cigarettes.

The passenger passed through the Green Channel at MIA, the channel reserved for ‘Nothing to Declare’, and had his belongings scanned by Customs Officials through the XRAY Machine.

The contents raised suspicions and all his personal belongings were physically checked, where the discovery was made.

Tax on the cigarettes would amount to over €5,000.

Officers from the police force’s Economic Crime Unit were informed and the passenger was held for further investigation.

The man is expected to be arraigned in court today.