Vehicle with smuggled cigarettes seized in Sharjah

Sharjah - The smuggled cigarettes were to be sold to a number of shops.

The Sharjah Municipality seized a vehicle loaded with smuggled cigarettes while it was on its way to distribute the consignment at various shops and outlets across the emirate. The police arrested the smugglers and referred them to the public prosecution.
Mohammed Al Kabbi, director of Cleaning Control Department, said that the municipality was informed by the police operation room about a tip-off that stated a cigarette-laden vehicle was plying on a Sharjah road. The caller revealed that the smuggled cigarettes, which had escaped the customs, were to be sold to a number of shops. 
Acting on the tip-off, the municipality, in coordination with the police, swung into action and formed a team who contacted the Sharjah Economic Development Department to complete the procedure to carry out the raid and arrest the smugglers red-handed. 
Al Kabbi pointed out that inspection teams in the municipality strive to check illegal practices that distort the city's image. Inspectors have been deployed round-the-clock to take the necessary action against those who carry out illegal activities and pose risk to the society and economy, he added. "The municipality would not tolerate those who aim to make fast bucks by promoting their illegal goods."
The municipality is working on launching a number of awareness campaigns to sensitise the public about the importance of adhering to the regulations and laws. 
Al Kabbi called on the public and shopkeepers to avoid dealing with such illegal vendors or purchase goods of unknown origin, and cooperate with the municipality in reporting anyone who indulges in an unlawful act by calling 993.

• Sharjah