Twelve people arrested in counterfeit cigarette trafficking from Belgium

Twelve people were arrested and indicted in September as part of an operation to dismantle trafficking in counterfeit cigarettes from Belgium, the Amiens public prosecutor's office and the gendarmerie announced in a press release on Wednesday.

According to investigations, at least 30 tonnes of counterfeit tobacco, equivalent to a value of 20 million euros, were imported by this network, which had branches in Morocco and Belgium. “Three individuals were imprisoned and nine placed under judicial supervision,” specifies the joint press release.

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International police cooperation

The arrests took place on September 14 and 22, 2026, “at the end of several months of investigation” carried out by the Amiens Research Section (SR), supported by the Somme gendarmerie group. The gendarmes were seized by the Amiens public prosecutor's office after the interception by customs, in June 2025, of a utility vehicle transporting 6,000 cartons of counterfeit cigarettes. A judicial investigation was then opened a few months later, in December 2025.

The investigation “was carried out thanks to significant international police cooperation” with Belgium and Morocco, add the prosecution and the gendarmerie. In addition to the arrests, 2,230 tonnes of counterfeit cigarettes, 10 vehicles, weapons and more than 85,000 euros were seized during this dismantling operation.