Police seize counterfeit cigarettes

By JIMMY KALEBE
EIGHTY cartons of counterfeit cigarettes were confiscated by police in Lae yesterday following a joint operation with community leaders.
Lae Metropolitan Superintendent Anthony Wagambie Jr said the operation was to track down a drug syndicate but came across the fake cigarettes.
“Upon realising that police were approaching, a group of men carrying the cartons of fake cigarettes dropped some and ran away,” Wagambie said.
“Police pursued them and retrieved 80 cartons of counterfeit cigarettes.”
It is understood that some boxes of cigarettes had been hidden.
Wagambie said the counterfeit products were being sold to people who later re-sold them at roadside markets.
British American Tobacco officials at Omili police station confirmed that all cigarettes retrieved were fake. Wagambie said police would work with Customs officials and stakeholders to uncover the sources.
“We have been receiving information that counterfeit products are being sold on the streets to some consumers,” he said.