Marseille: seizure of 333 kilos of contraband tobacco during Operation Colbert IV
Marseille customs officials seized 333 kilos of illegal tobacco during the national operation "Colbert IV". This large-scale mobilisation aims to dismantle smuggling networks that use the port and airport to flood the parallel market.
Anti-smuggling operation at Marseille borders
According to Le Figaro, the customs authorities of Bouches-du-Rhône seized 333 kilos of contraband tobacco as part of operation "Colbert IV", an annual inter-ministerial action against tobacco trafficking. This ten-day mobilisation is part of a broader strategy to eradicate a parallel market that undermines tranquillity in Marseille and directly competes with licensed tobacconists.
Illegal tobacco infiltrates the city through local port and airport infrastructure, where traffickers exploit the intensity of commercial transit. Contraband cigarette sellers operate openly in the city centre, supplied by international networks that take advantage of this porous border situation. In addition to strengthened controls already in place at the exits of ferries and aircraft arriving from abroad, the authorities have added this vast coordinated operation.
Trafficking represents much more than a public nuisance: it fuels transnational criminal organisations and deprives the State of considerable tax revenue. Operation "Colbert IV" reflects the determination of Marseille customs to interrupt supply chains at source, rather than merely managing downstream distribution.
Source: Le Figaro