U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport seized nearly $60,000 worth of counterfeit cigarettes from passengers arriving on a cruise ship from Ensenada, Mexico, according to a CBP statement from Wednesday.
On April 17, two female passengers traveling together disembarked an ocean liner arriving to Long Beach Cruise Ship Terminal and presented themselves for CBP inspection.
During the inspection CBP discovered 10 pieces of luggage full of cigarettes, including 749 cartons of illicit cigarettes.
“Large quantities of cigarettes are considered ‘commercial’ not personal use; therefore, an importer permit from the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) is required,” CBP said in a statement. “In addition, tobacco product labels must meet FDA standards, such as including nicotine warnings and accurate product descriptions.”
Although the travelers presented purchase receipts, they were unable to provide the appropriate permits to import such a quantity of tobacco products.
CBP officers found 326 cartons of Newport 100’s, 58 cartons of Newport regulars,112 cartons of Marlboro Red, 43 cartons of Marlboro Silver and 210 cartons of Marlboro Gold cigarettes.
“Selling illegally imported cigarettes could yield high profits for underground vendors due to the low cost of cigarettes when purchased overseas and the evasion of taxes owed upon import,” said Africa R. Bell, CBP Port Director of Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport.
All 749 cartons that were seized will be destroyed under CBP supervision, CBP said.
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