Cigarette Seizures and Arrests at Larnaca Airport

Significant seizures of tobacco products and nicotine pouches took place at Larnaca Airport, resulting in the arrest of four people in four days for three different cases.

On August 8, 2025, officers of the Customs Department selected for inspection the luggage of a passenger with British citizenship, who was traveling to the United Kingdom. During the inspection, 70 cartons of cigarettes (200 each) and 40 packages of rolling tobacco (2 kg total) were found, which did not bear the required markings.

On August 10, 2025, a passenger with Indian citizenship, arriving from India via Qatar, was arrested for possession of 419 nicotine pouches of 6.84g each and 40 pieces of 12.6g. The passenger paid an out-of-court fine of €900.

On August 11, 2025, two Turkish Cypriot passengers were arrested while trying to travel to the United Kingdom with a total of 150 cartons of cigarettes (200 each), which also did not bear the legal markings.

The detainees were taken to the Larnaca District Court and detained.