Vast operation by customs officers. “From March 20 to 27, more than 27 tons of tobacco were seized by 10,100 state agents, three times more than during the first Colbert operation which took place in June 2023,” detailed the General Directorate of Customs.
In “a single week, the equivalent of 20 million euros in revenue for the State. We must fight fiercely against tobacco trafficking,” said Minister Delegate in charge of Public Accounts Thomas Cazenave on Sud Radio.
Aix-en-Provence customs officers made the largest seizure of the operation, on the road, with 10.4 tonnes of cigarettes.
Booming traffic
In total, the operation resulted in 108 arrests and the opening of 52 files requesting administrative closures.
Operation Colbert II, developed as part of the national anti-fraud operational group (Gonaf), is part of the national plan to combat tobacco trafficking 2023-2025.
Tobacco trafficking is booming: customs services seized 521 tonnes of tobacco last year, after the 2022 record of 649 tonnes. Since December 2021, the authorities have dismantled five clandestine cigarette manufacturing factories in France, a veritable cash machine for criminal organizations, often specializing in drug trafficking, which are seeking to diversify.