LUXEMBOURG (AP) A tobacco company spokesman says Luxembourg authorities have seized 38 tons of counterfeit cigarettes being flown into the European Union, likely from Dubai.
Guy Cote, a spokesman for the JTI tobacco company, says the seized cigarettes were fake Palaces a brand he said has long been targeted by counterfeiters and had been discontinued by the company.
“We’re cooperating with authorities,” Cote said Tuesday, adding that the cigarettes were seized Saturday.
A Luxembourg customs spokesman said he could not release information on the seizure yet.
JTI was formed in 1999 when Japan Tobacco Inc. acquired the U.S. company R.J. Reynolds.
Since the weight of a cigarette is about 1.2 grams, the seizure would equate to about 30 million cigarettes.
