More than 122,000 cigarettes seized at Luxembourg airport

· September 20, 2026

Saisie de 122.000 cigarettes de contrebande

An Armenian and two Bulgarian nationals had packed the contraband cigarettes in six suitcases

Duncan Roberts

Luxembourg Times

Officers from Luxembourg’s customs and excise administration seized 122,418 contraband cigarettes after inspecting the luggage of three passengers flying into Luxembourg from Warsaw in late August, authorities confirmed on Thursday.

The cigarettes, which originated from Turkey and Armenia, had been packed into six suitcases being carried by the three individuals.

One of the passengers was an Armenian national; the other two were Bulgarian. They had intended to circumvent customs controls and thus avoid declaring the goods and paying duties, the customs and excise administration said in a statement.

Circuitous route to Luxembourg

The smugglers had taken a circuitous route to Luxembourg from Istanbul, involving stopovers in the Armenian capital of Yerevan as well as Warsaw, in an attempt to simulate an intra-European journey and hide the fact that the cigarettes originated from countries outside the European Union.

Working with the French authorities, Luxembourg customs officers established that the presumed destination for the contraband cigarettes was the Bordeaux region.

The customs and excise administration said that EU member states including Luxembourg have made it a mission to protect the internal market against the illicit trade in manufactured tobacco products and to defend the fiscal interests of the bloc.