Rabat – Tetouan’s 8th police district seized 79,190 packets of contraband cigarettes and arrested two individuals on Friday evening, Morocco’s Directorate General of National Security reported.
One of the arrestees has a criminal record of cigarette trafficking, the statement noted, adding that local police arrested the suspects separately as one was driving a car loaded with smuggled cigarettes and the other one managed a storage space in Khandek Zerbouh.
During the operation, judicial police seized a vehicle used for transportation and the 79,190 packs of six brands of contraband cigarettes, DGSN said.
Following the arrest, the authorities ran a judicial investigation on the 41-year-old and 51-year-old under the supervision of the public prosecutor’s office to identify possible additional suspects involved in these acts, authorities added.
Contraband Cigarettes in the Moroccan market
In 2019, Morocco’s Administration of Customs and Indirect Taxes (ADII) reported that the penetration rate of contraband cigarettes in the Moroccan market was 5.23%, marking an increase of 1.5% from 2018. Yet the country witnessed a general decrease in the contraband cigarettes’ market penetration in previous years, 5.64% in 2017 and 7.64% in 2016.
In 2010, Moroccan Customs introduced a reform to control the production and importation of certain goods subject to internal consumption taxes (ICT). The objective has been “to prevent fraud and smuggling … through the adoption of less intrusive and more efficient control methods,” said ADII.
Nine years later, Morocco increased domestic consumption taxes on some popular cigarette brands such as Marlboro and Marquise. The initiative was part of the country’s 2019 financial bill.
While the Moroccan Company of Tobacco (SMT) approved the tax increase, taboo companies warned of the decision’s impact on strengthening cigarette contraband that provides similar products at a cheaper price.
However, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic severely hit the contraband sector in Morocco. In 2020, ADII reported a sudden MAD 4 billion ($427 million) increase in Moroccan customs following the closure of borders with Ceuta Melilla.
With gradual border reopening, the illegal activity might return to pre-COVID-19 levels.
