During the night from Monday 5 May to Tuesday 6 May, police in the Zennevallei region (Halle/Beersel/Sint-Pieters-Leeuw) discovered a large quantity of illegal cigarettes in a suspicious vehicle.
Customs officials were called to the scene, seizing both the cigarettes and the vehicle, according to a statement from the Zennevallei police on Wednesday.
A police patrol noticed the suspicious vehicle on the Steenweg naar Alsemberg in Huizingen late on Monday night, and stopped it for an inspection. The car, carrying French number plates, was driven by a 21-year-old French national, and officers found ten boxes inside, each containing 500 packs of cigarettes.
“In total, there were 100,000 individual cigarettes,” stated the Zennevallei police. “None of the packs had excise stamps, indicating illegal importation or trade. Customs were immediately notified and seized the vehicle, the suspect’s mobile phone, and the entire load of cigarettes.”
Removing such cigarettes from circulation is crucial not only to prevent tax evasion, but also because these products often bypass standard quality checks.
Illegal cigarettes may contain harmful substances in higher concentrations and are frequently linked to organised crime, the police added.
