Four suspects allegedly smuggled fake tobacco in Chanthaburi
Officials seized 83,154 packs of fake tobacco worth more than 10 million baht from four suspects in Chanthaburi yesterday. A police investigation found they smuggled the tobacco via the Ban Laem Immigration Checkpoint in Pong Nam Ron district, and sold the tobacco online.
Two of the suspects were charged with allegedly selling fake tobacco, while the other two were charged with violating the 2017 Trademark Act. Police told Nation Thailand the network the suspects are part of has “several members”, although they didn’t specify how many. The police arrested the suspects after Thailand’s Economic Crime Suppression Division complained that fake tobacco was being smuggled and sold online in Chanthaburi’s Soi Dao district.
Police now warn tobacco buyers to check the stamp duty, product brand, or tax payment information, to know if tobacco is real or fake. They say people can report fake tobacco to the Central Investigation Bureau or ECD Facebook pages.
Police said the incident is concerning because fake tobacco is contaminated with chemical residue, which has harmful effects on consumers. A 2004 report by The Guardian warned that fake cigarettes contain chemicals including lead and cadmium which can be at least five times higher than levels found in real cigarettes.
SOURCE: Nation Thailand | The Guardian
