Mexico's Customs Agency Seizes 10 Million Illicit Cigarettes and Flags Digitalization Gaps

Mexico’s National Customs Agency (ANAM), working with the Navy and the Secretariat of Security and Protection, intercepted a shipment in Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán, that contained 9.948 million counterfeit cigarettes declared as drinking glasses from an Asian source. The operation was part of ongoing risk‑analysis and customs‑control efforts aimed at protecting national security and curbing illicit trade.

ANAM’s director of Customs Attention, Estefanía Capdeville Jiménez, later acknowledged that the agency still faces delays in fully separating its digital systems from the former tax authority (SAT). She noted that 64 legacy SAT systems must be migrated, citing a 11‑year transition period compared with Canada’s 20‑year experience and highlighting Mexico’s existing technical capacity, including a dedicated software factory and a team of over 100 developers.

Both actions underscore ANAM’s dual focus on strengthening enforcement against smuggling while modernizing its digital infrastructure to improve trade facilitation.