Armenia’s State Revenue Committee (SRC) has uncovered an attempt to smuggle 37,900 packs of cigarettes into the United States concealed inside laminate doors.
According to the SRC, the agency’s Anti-Smuggling Department received intelligence that an Armenian-registered business was preparing to export a large shipment of tobacco products to the United States through the Cargo terminal, concealing them from customs control.
Acting on the information, SRC officers placed the company’s export shipments under surveillance.
During an inspection at the Cargo terminal, officers examined laminate doors destined for the United States. Each door weighed twice as much as a standard door made of the same material, raising suspicions.
The officers dismantled all the doors being exported and discovered 37,900 packs of cigarettes manufactured in various countries and concealed from customs control. The tobacco products did not bear excise stamps.
A customs violation report was drawn up, and the case materials were forwarded to the SRC’s Legal Department.
The State Revenue Committee urged businesses to comply with customs legislation and refrain from attempting to transport goods while concealing them from customs control.