File photo.
Customs authorities at Athens airport have arrested a man who tried to smuggle in thousands of contraband cigarette packs or other tobacco-based products, police said Monday.
Athens police also announced the arrest of a shop assistant in the city center for allegedly selling contraband tobacco, but it was not immediately clear whether Sunday’s two arrests were linked.
In both cases, the suspects were described as foreign nationals.
At Athens airport, a 43-year-old man who had just flown in from Egypt was taken into custody after being caught with nearly 8,000 undeclared and untaxed packs of cigarettes or tobacco based products, a police statement said. Similar arrests are common on flights from Egypt.
