Bars and shops caught out with contraband cigarettes in capital of Spain’s Costa Almeria

ALMERIA Local Police have caught out two of the city’s bars, three food shops and a bazaar selling contraband cigarettes.
Inspections of the six establishments at the end of June in conjunction with the Customs Surveillance Unit revealed that without the relevant authorisation they were selling packets of national and international brand cigarettes loose, most of them in any case contraband.
The inspections resulted in the seizure of more than 585 cartons of cigarettes with a combined value of some €2,500.
The establishments face minimum fines of €1,000.
The sanctions in the case of large-scale illegal tobacco sales set-ups can be as much as 350 per cent of the value of the amount seized.