Colombia records peak illegal cigarette smuggling, losses top 1.18 trillion pesos

Illegal cigarette trade in Colombia surged to its highest level in 2025, with an estimated 38 % of all cigarettes consumed entering the country through illicit routes; in some areas up to nine out of ten packs were illegal. The surge caused a fiscal loss of about 1.18 trillion Colombian pesos for the 32 departments and Bogotá, bringing the five‑year cumulative impact to more than 4.8 trillion pesos.

The regions most affected were Norte de Santander (69 % incidence), Córdoba (54 %), Antioquia (51 %) and Atlántico (48 %). Low‑priced brands such as Rumba, Carnival, Marshal, Nashville and Cherokee dominate illegal sales, accounting for roughly 80‑83 % of transactions in neighborhood stores. Authorities identified 113 irregular entry points in La Guajira and mapped two main smuggling corridors: one from Panama through the Caribbean, the Urabá region and the Coffee Axis to the Ecuador border, and another from Ciudad del Este (Paraguay) or Montevideo (Uruguay) via Aruba and Curaçao to Colombian Caribbean ports and onward to Maicao.

Police operations seized 4.5 million packs valued at 15 trillion pesos, dismantled five criminal organizations, arrested 46 individuals and made 230 other apprehensions. Additional raids between March and July 2026 targeted smuggling networks in Medellín, Tolima, Valle del Cauca and Bolívar.