Over 100,000 illegal cigarettes found in Hague supermarket
A full-scale check by the The Hague Economic Intervention Team at a supermarket in Rustenburg‑Oostbroek uncovered and confiscated 102,800 illegal cigarettes. The seized cigarettes did not have Dutch excise stamps, suggesting that no taxes had been paid. According to Customs, this constitutes both a breach of the Excise Act and a criminal offense.
Customs discovered the cigarettes concealed in hidden compartments within the store as well as in two company vehicles. The vehicles were also confiscated, as they had been repeatedly used in the illicit trade.
The investigation involved the The Hague Economic Intervention Team, Dutch Customs, and the municipal social services of The Hague. HEIT is a joint initiative of the municipality, police, Customs, NVWA, the Labour Inspectorate, UWV, and several environmental agencies, aimed at combating undermining criminal activity and economic misconduct.
Local sources indicate that this is not the first instance of illegal cigarettes being found at the entrepreneur’s business, as earlier checks had produced comparable results.
Selling cigarettes without paying excise duties leads to multiple harmful effects, like criminal gains evading taxation, legitimate businesses facing unfair competition, and government efforts on excise and smoking prevention being weakened.
Supermarkets have been banned from selling cigarettes since July 1, 2024, yet illegal sales continue to be an issue, inspection reports show. Large-scale illicit tobacco operations frequently lead to significant confiscations across the Netherlands, sometimes involving millions of cigarettes.
