The National Customs Directorate seized cigars they came from smuggling for an approximate value of $3 million in the last four years in more than 700 operational made throughout the country.
The figures were reported by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) in a statement that indicates that so far 2022 were made 182 operational that allowed the seizure of cigarettes worth $28,229,848 (about US$700 thousand).
The report notes that in 2021 there were 177 operations with the seizure of cigarettes for $25,734,668 (US$630,000). In 2020 it was the year in which there were fewer operations but they found more cigarettessince the value amounted to $50,591,904 (US$ 1.2 million).
Finally, in 2019 they made 188 seizures but only $7,132,583 (US$175,000) worth of cigars were obtained.
This Thursday, officials from the Sanitary Barriers area of the Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries (MGAP) together with Customs workers detained a fiat fiorino station wagon on route 7 at kilometer 260 at Lavalleja with 620 thousand cigarettes from Paraguay and Brazil that were valued at $6 million.
The Customs communication comes a few days after the government decided to relax anti-smoking regulations in order to reduce smuggling. The changes enable the sale of soft boxes – something that was claimed by Montepaz, which manufactures Coronado and Nevada, among others – and place marks to distinguish them.
The decision of the government of Luis Lacalle Pou was rejected by the opposition and several organizations linked to the fight against tobacco, while it was defended by the ruling party, pointing out that the change was demanded by the industry and the workers.
“The entry of cigarettes and smuggling or counterfeiting generate and promote a relevant informal market, which severely affects collection and threatens the public policies of the administration regarding its eradication,” says the decree.
Finally, the document states that “in order to interrupt said irregularity in the marketing chain”, it is understood necessary to “maintain the identification of each unit of the product and its packaging in a soft box” and “identify those who profit from the sale wholesale and retail sale of counterfeit and smuggled cigarettes, discouraging access to the informal product, determining applicable sanctions”.
The authorities justified the changes based on a Cifra survey contracted by Montepaz that in October 2020 showed that 36% of Uruguayan smokers consumed illegal cigarettes.
