Press Release: “Operation Sirocco”: 40 million cigarettes seized in joint customs operation

Around 40 million cigarettes, 1243kg of hand-rolled tobacco, 7038 litres of alcohol and 8 million other counterfeit items including clothing, shoes, toys and electronics, were seized during a joint customs cooperation, coordinated by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF). “Operation Sirocco”, which also led to the arrest of 3 suspected cigarette traffickers, was a joint project carried out by the EU and 11 partner countries from the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM). The final results of this operation, which was conducted in June 2010, were made public today at a meeting in Amman, Jordan.

European Commission: Memo/10/466: Union for the Mediterranean joint customs operation “Sirocco” http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/10/466&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

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