Cheap furniture scam up in smoke in Cyprus haul
NICOSIA (Reuters) – Authorities in Cyprus seized hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of contraband cigarettes


Thursday a local man tried to smuggle into the country as cheap furniture.
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The seizure, one of the largest of its kind on the Mediterranean island where 40 percent of the population smoke, has a potential tax bill exceeding $1 million.

Thousands of cartons of cigarettes packed in bales were imported in a shipping container from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. The final destination for the cigarettes appeared to be Cyprus.
“The owner had billed the shipment as furniture and had paid import duties of 960 pounds. We found cigarettes instead which have an import bill of 741,700 pounds, plus VAT,” Customs Department chief investigator Nikki Hadjiyianni told Reuters.

A Greek Cypriot was in custody on suspicion of attempted fraud.