German Customs Seizes Illegal Cigarette Factory in Rhineland-Palatinate

German customs agents dismantled an illegal cigarette‑manufacturing operation at a former factory site in Staudt, Rhineland‑Palatinate. The three‑day raid, involving more than 120 officers, resulted in the seizure of over 80 million untaxed cigarettes and roughly 16 tonnes of tobacco, with an estimated tax loss of €5.4 million. Authorities apprehended four suspects, who are now in pre‑trial detention, and uncovered about 10 million cigarettes in a warehouse in Ahlen, North Rhine‑Westphalia, and another nine million on an agricultural estate near Rüsselsheim, Hesse. At least eleven workers had been kept in the facility under poor conditions to conceal the operation.

The operation highlights ongoing efforts by German authorities to combat large‑scale smuggling and tax evasion in the tobacco market.