German Customs Seized 45,000 Illegal Electronic Cigarettes.

The customs authorities in Cologne, Germany, seized approximately 45,000 illegal disposable electronic cigarettes and over 1,100 liters of untaxed e-liquid during a large-scale surprise inspection on May 21st. The amount of seizures was not made public until Wednesday this week.
According to the customs officials, this is the largest such case of its kind. These illegal electronic cigarettes were hidden in a Romanian truck, which was traveling from Paris to North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony at that time. The customs officials intercepted this vehicle, which was heading to Cologne, on the A4 highway near Kerpfen, and conducted an inspection. After opening the truck, they found seven pallets, totaling 222 boxes of goods.
Jens Ahland, the spokesperson of the Cologne Customs General Office, said that all of these goods consisted of illegal disposable electronic cigarettes and electronic cigarette oil, and none of them had valid tax tickets, which did not comply with the current tax regulations. It is estimated that the market value of these electronic cigarettes exceeded 1 million euros, and the tax loss caused by the unreported situation was nearly 300,000 euros.