The Customs Department, working in cooperation with the police and other state agencies, believes it is on the trail of a network smuggling tobacco products from the occupied areas to Israel via the Republic of Cyprus.
Seizures of tobacco products have surged in recent days, with customs authorities convinced that the activity points to an organised operation.
Last Wednesday, Customs Department officers conducting routine checks under the Green Line Regulation at the Dherynia crossing point stopped a Turkish Cypriot taxi carrying an Israeli passenger bound for Larnaca Airport.
During an inspection of the Israeli passenger's luggage, officers discovered 15 cartons of cigarettes, each containing 200 cigarettes, as well as three one-kilogram packages of shisha tobacco.
The products did not carry the legally required health warnings in Greek and Turkish and were also missing both the mandatory security feature and unique traceability code, indicating that they were untaxed products.
The tobacco products were seized and will be destroyed in accordance with established procedures.
The individual involved was initially arrested for offences committed in flagrante delicto. He was later released after customs authorities accepted a proposal for an out-of-court settlement, under which he paid €2,000.
According to a Customs Department statement issued following the latest seizure, and in conjunction with statistical data compiled from seizures at crossing points, authorities have observed a worrying upward trend over the past two months involving Israeli nationals.
The cases concern Israelis found transporting mainly tobacco products from the occupied areas with the intention of taking them to Israel.
According to Customs, the trend strengthens suspicions that a specific network may be channelling cigarettes from the occupied areas through the Republic of Cyprus and onwards to Israel.
The department said that two major seizures carried out in February and November 2025 first revealed the existence of a network transporting tobacco products from Cyprus to Israel by sea using boats and vessels.
Authorities now believe that the network may have shifted to a form of smuggling known as "ant smuggling".
Customs explained that this method involves the illegal movement of goods such as cigarettes, drugs or cash through multiple individuals carrying small quantities rather than a single large shipment.
Instead of transporting a large load at once, smugglers use many people, each carrying a small amount, making repeated trips in an effort to avoid raising suspicion and to remain under the radar of enforcement authorities.
Statistics
Customs data show that during June, seizures of tobacco products at crossing points involving Israeli nationals accounted for 14% of all cases, representing 41 cases out of a total of 288.
Those cases accounted for 30% of all cigarette seizures, with 22,080 cigarettes confiscated out of a total of 72,620.
In July, the figures increased substantially.
Seizures involving Israeli nationals represented 24.5% of all tobacco seizures at crossing points, amounting to 46 cases out of 188.
They also accounted for almost 50% of all cigarette seizures, with 20,980 cigarettes confiscated out of a total of 42,050.
