Customs officers on Thursday dismantled an illegal cigarette factory in Heist-op-den-Berg, in the province of Antwerp, the Finance Department said, confirming a report in Het Laatste Nieuws. Twelve people were arrested.
According to customs, this was a major bust. “There were not only machines, but also large quantities of basic materials for making cigarettes, such as tobacco, filters and packaging materials,” said Francis Adyns of the Finance Department.
“To give an order of magnitude, it will take around 25 lorries to take away all the material seized,” he said.
The people working in the warehouse had rooms there and a sort of food truck where they could eat. The 12 persons present were taken away to be interviewed and identified.
