Customs seize 1.7 tonnes of shisha tobacco from San Gwann barber shop

Customs officials have seized 1.7 tonnes of shisha tobacco from a San Gwann barber shop.

Over the Christmas holidays, in separate cases, customs also seized thousands of contraband cigarettes and a cigarette vending machine.

On Saturday, following hours of observation, 1.7 tonnes of shisha tobacco, with no excise paid on it, were seized from a barber shop in San Gwann.

Customs officials also searched a vacant store adjacent to the barber shop and found 52 master cases full of shisha tobacco.

The estimated unpaid taxes in the case exceed €65,000.

The police Economic Crimes Unit were called on the scene to investigate, and the duty magistrate was also duly informed of the case.

Several people were called for interrogation and some of the suspects are expected to be arraigned in court in the coming days.

Meanwhile, in Siggiewi, Customs officials, accompanied by law enforcement officers from the Siggiewi police station, inspected two garages belonging to the same person and found a total of 7,600 cigarettes baring no excise duty stamps.

In another case, a cigarette vending machine was seized from a bar in Luqa after it was found to be selling cigarettes over the stipulated prices without warning customers with a visible notice, as required by law.

The operator refused to open the vending machine and the officials consequently seized the vending machine and its contents.