Aix-en-Provence: woman tried for cigarette trafficking and tobacco importation from Africa
A woman residing in the capital appeared before the criminal court in Aix-en-Provence for having smuggled cigarette cartridges from Kinshasa into the country, with the aim of selling them in northern Paris.
Aix-en-Provence: woman tried for cigarette trafficking and tobacco importation from Africa
A Paris resident was summoned before the criminal court in Aix-en-Provence in early summer 2026 to answer charges related to illicit tobacco trading. The facts date back to December 2024, when customs officers at Marignane airport seized a cargo worth approximately 17,000 euros.
The suspect was arrested on the last day of the year with nearly 140 cigarette cartridges. According to her account, she had purchased them in a market situated on the riverbank in Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Her expected profit was substantial: she intended to resell each cartridge at more than double its purchase price, at over 20 euros, to retailers in the Barbès neighbourhood in the capital.
This was not her first venture into this type of activity. She had previously been intercepted with around fifty similar cartridges. When questioned, she had attempted to justify her repeated trips by claiming that she was simply bringing local products back for her family and close acquaintances.
Source: La Provence
Source: Google News FR — Crime (fr)