Fake invoices and hundreds of boxes of tobacco: this is how they tried to deceive Customs in Havana

Two attempts to smuggle tobacco out of Cuba through José Martí International Airport ended with the seizure of 533 boxes and 527 loose units of various brands. In one of the cases, authorities also detected forged invoices and permits.

Wiliam Pérez González, first deputy chief of the General Customs of the Republic, informed this Wednesday on X that both incidents were detected during the controls at the Havana airport terminal.

"The Cuban customs detected two cases of illegal tobacco extraction at the Havana airport, violating established regulations," the official stated.

In the brief announcement, it was reported that a total of 533 boxes and 527 loose cigars of different brands were seized, but it was not specified how many people were involved or what the travelers' destination was.

In one of the attempts, the authorities determined that the invoices and authorizations submitted along with the goods had been forged.

The case was reported to the National Revolutionary Police (PNR), although no further details about the investigation were provided.

Cuban regulations allow travelers to take out of the country up to 20 loose hand-rolled cigars without needing to present a receipt and up to 50 units without a receipt when they are in their original packaging.

For larger quantities, documentation is required to verify their legal acquisition and compliance with the established requirements for packaging.

Although the regulations are very clear, this new seizure adds to a series of similar cases detected this year at Cuba's main airport.

On July 10, Customs seized more than 4,200 loose cigars, along with 15 boxes and bundles of tobacco that were intended to depart from Havana on a flight to Panama. The authorities imposed administrative measures and reported the case to the police.

Months earlier, on April 12, fake authorizations, sales invoices, and other counterfeit stickers were detected at the same terminal that were allegedly intended for falsifying Cuban cigars.

On that occasion, the operation involved illegally smuggling those materials into the country.

At the beginning of that month, another operation had prevented the departure of 1,948 cigars packed in four pieces of luggage belonging to travelers heading to the United States.