Customs agents destroy contraband cigarettes and whiskey in Mexico

Customs agents destroy contraband in northern Mexico

Published July 25, 2012
EFE

Customs agents destroyed 18,000 bottles of whisky and 12 million cigarettes seized earlier this month in Ciudad Juarez, a border city in northern Mexico, officials said.

The contraband was seized on July 6, when two people attempted to smuggle the liquor and cigarettes into Mexico in two trucks, the customs service said.

The whisky and cigarettes were destroyed Tuesday in the presence of federal, state and municipal officials at the customs facility in Ciudad Juarez, located across the Rio Grande from El Paso, Texas, the customs service said in a statement.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection, or CBP, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, assisted Mexican agents in detecting the contraband.

The two suspects face smuggling and tax evasion charges, the Mexican customs service said.

The liquor was crushed with a paving machine and the glass was buried in a pit, while the cigarettes were shredded.

Customs agents have seized and destroyed "around 14 million cigarettes and more than 20,000 bottles of liquor, as well as medicines and cosmetics," so far this year, the customs service chief in Ciudad Juarez, Juan Ramon Huerta Leon, said in a press conference.

Johnnie Walker Red Label Scotch whisky and Native Full Flavor cigarettes are among the most sold brands in El Paso, Huerta said. EFE

Customs agents destroy contraband in northern Mexico | Fox News Latino

Whew! I just knew when I read the cigarettes it was going to be from NY into Canada. Smokes are around $100 a carton UNLESS you buy them on an Indian Reservation which is tax free. OHIP (ONT. insurance) gets their biggest hits off of cigs and gas.