Rennes: twelve-person network tried for cigarette smuggling
A Breton court is examining a tobacco trafficking case involving around a dozen individuals, including members of the same family, active in Bordeaux and on the Atlantic coast.
Rennes: twelve-person network tried for cigarette smuggling
A major tobacco smuggling case has been examined since Monday, 15 June by the Rennes judiciary. Twelve defendants are appearing before the Ille-et-Vilaine magistrates' court, suspected of having supplied an illegal cigarette circuit in several departments in western France, notably in Gironde and Loire-Atlantique.
The case dates back to 17 February 2024. On that day, customs officers from La Rochelle carried out a routine check at the Chermignac rest area, not far from Saintes, in Charente-Maritime. They discovered a cargo of 1.2 tonnes of contraband tobacco in a rented utility vehicle, equivalent to 1,090 cartons stamped "Duty Free".
Among the defendants are several close relatives, suggesting a partially family-based organisation. The quantity of goods seized testifies to structured trafficking and criminal activity of national scale.
Source: Ouest-France
Source: Google News FR — Crime (fr)