Port officials intercept large cache of smuggled cigarettes in Patra

A 36-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday after port authorities in Patra found more than 1.8 million contraband cigarettes hidden inside his truck, it emerged on Thursday.

According to the coast guard, port authority teams searching vehicles for drugs discovered the packs of cigarettes concealed inside large metal cylinders.

Officers counted 90,530 cigarette packs of several brands (1,810,600 cigarettes) for which the truck driver did not provide legal paperwork. They said the driver and his illicit cargo were heading to Italy.

Patra Port Authority, which is conducting the investigation, confiscated the cigarettes, the truck and a navigation device.