French Court Sentences Polish Man for Smuggling Tobacco and Alcohol from Andorra

A French court in Montauban, Tarn-et-Garonne, near Toulouse, has sentenced a 49-year-old Polish man from Moissac in Occitanie to four months in prison with suspension and a €927 customs fine for smuggling tobacco and alcohol bought in Andorra.

The man made at least 11 trips to Andorra, mostly on Sundays, between September 2024 and September 2025. He purchased heavily taxed products at lower prices in the Principality for resale in France, authorities said. The probe started after complaints from local tobacconists about lost business due to Andorra's price advantage. Investigators tracked his phone and bank transactions, leading to his arrest in the act on 14 September 2025.

Gendarmes pulled over a minibus heading back from Andorra with eight people inside. They found 161 packets of cigarettes, several kilograms of rolling tobacco, about 150 bottles of alcohol and 239 cans of beer. The group then moved the haul to other vehicles in a commercial car park for distribution.

During the trial this week, the defendant denied organized smuggling, claiming the goods were for his own use and friends. Prosecutors argued the repeated trips created unfair competition for French retailers. The man had no prior record.

The case was first detailed by French outlet *La Dépêche du Midi* and covered locally by *Diari d'Andorra* and *ARA*.