Monthly Archives: February 2016

Editor’s Note: The same transnational criminal organizations that traffic in cigarettes also traffic in drugs, weapons, people, and puppy dogs. For more on cigarette smugglers that also abuse and kill puppies, see here.

From: The Times (London)

Aaron Rogan

Animal welfare groups have said that a new EU-wide pets database could help stamp out puppy farming.

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Groups such as the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISCPA) and Dogs Trust have said that the enforcement of microchipping will help shut down the illegal puppy trade in Ireland which generates millions of euros and involves drug and cigarette-smuggling gangs.

From: YeniSafak

In 2015, as many as 143,239,425 packs of smuggled cigarettes were seized in Turkey with an almost 2 percentage increase, which sabotages the country’s fight against terror

Cigarette smuggling, one of the most significant sources of income for terrorist organizations, has increased 2 percent reaching 13,3 percent in the last quarter of 2015, according to recent research.

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Turkish authorities indicated that smuggled cigarettes are extremely harmful to health and are also a significant source of income for terrorist organizations.

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From: Thai Visa

Thailand Tobacco Monopoly to award authorities for cracking down on illegal cigarettes

BANGKOK, 26 February 2016 (NNT) – The smuggling of cigarettes has reportedly been on the rise, following the excise tax hike.

The news has prompted Thailand Tobacco Monopoly (TTM) to announce its plan to crack down on the illegal cigarette sales. TTM Director Daonoi Suthinipapan said that a total of 10 million baht has been set aside to award government officials, police, and soldiers who have successfully arrested cigarette smugglers.

From: The Economist

In Italy and Spain, Chinese banks are implicated in money-laundering

WHEN Liu Wang, the European head of the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), opened its branch in Madrid in 2011, he probably did not imagine that he would one day return to the city as a prisoner. Yet on February 19th Mr Wang was arrested and jailed without bail. He is one of six of the bank’s executives accused of funnelling dubious cash deposited by Chinese expatriates back to China. Some of the money allegedly came from smuggling and illegal exploitation of workers. ICBC said it always respected the law, and threatened to sue “malicious slanderers”.

From: Richmond Times-Dispatch

Frank Green

A New Jersey man accused of trafficking some $9.5 million worth of Virginia cigarettes and transporting them to New Jersey for illegal resale was allowed to remain free on bond Tuesday.

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