French Customs Seize 117kg Tobacco at 2,300m in Pyrenees Smuggling Bust
Officers used snowshoes to recover contraband hidden under snow near Andorra border after surveillance in high-altitude stash site.
Key Points
- 117kg tobacco seized at 2,300m altitude near Pas de la Casa on French side.
- Hidden in 10 bundles under snow after surveillance by Bourg-Madame and Porta teams.
- Snowshoes used for second intervention due to heavy accumulation.
- No arrests; authorities vow continued anti-smuggling efforts.
French customs officers seized 117 kilograms of tobacco smuggled from Andorra last Sunday, hidden at an altitude of 2,300 metres near Pas de la Casa on French territory.
The operation, described by the Perpignan Regional Customs Directorate as one of the highest-altitude seizures in the area, followed an extended surveillance effort by teams from Bourg-Madame and Porta in the mountainous border region. Officers located a stash site used by smugglers, where the tobacco had been packed into around ten bundles for transport on foot along Andorran hiking trails to bypass customs checks.
Heavy snow accumulation forced a second intervention, with agents using snowshoes to reach the precise location. There, they uncovered the contraband buried under a thick layer of snow—presumably bought in Andorra for illegal entry into the French market. The goods were recovered and transported to a customs post, though no arrests were reported.
French authorities have pledged to sustain pressure against such cross-border trafficking in the mountain zone.
Original Sources
This article was aggregated from the following Catalan-language sources: