French Customs Seize 325kg Smuggled Tobacco from Andorra
Officers in Cerdanya used spike strips to stop evasive smugglers, confiscating over 325kg of cigarettes and loose tobacco in intensified border checks.
Key Points
- Seized 325.2kg cigarettes + 41.55kg loose tobacco in Cerdanya.
- Used spike strips to halt smugglers evading roadblocks.
- Part of ramped-up checks on Andorra-France border.
- Ongoing efforts target price-driven contraband route.
French customs officers seized more than 300 kilograms of tobacco smuggled from Andorra in the Cerdanya region over the past weekend, according to reports from the French outlet *L'Independant*.
The operation unfolded as customs brigades ramped up checks along Cerdanya roads. In a matter of hours, they confiscated 325.2 kilograms of cigarettes and an additional 41.55 kilograms of loose tobacco.
Authorities faced resistance from smugglers, who tried to evade the roadblocks in several vehicles. Officers ultimately stopped the suspects by deploying spike strips—known as stopsticks—that punctured the tyres and brought the cars to a halt.
The interceptions highlight ongoing efforts to curb tobacco smuggling across the Andorra-France border, a common route for such contraband due to price differences. No further details on arrests or the value of the haul were immediately available.
Original Sources
This article was aggregated from the following Catalan-language sources: