NEWS

Ship’s crew in dock over illegal cigarettes

A major operation involving coast guard boats and airplanes led to the seizure of a North Korean-flagged ship Tania and the arrest of its seven crew members after it unloaded three trucks carrying contraband cigarettes, the Merchant Marine Ministry said yesterday. The trucks were stopped in Halkidiki on Tuesday and authorities were immediately alerted to intercept the ship that had unloaded them after sailing from Romania. The ship was spotted by a coast guard plane in the northern Aegean and was then approached by three patrol boats, which escorted the vessel to the port of Alexandroupolis. The seven men on board are thought to be Ukrainians. Authorities believe that the Tania set ashore almost 2 million packs of contraband cigarettes on board the three trucks. The cigarettes are estimated to be worth some 4 million euros in lost tax revenues.

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