A joint operation involving officials from three government agencies on Tuesday resulted in the confiscation of 10,687 cigarettes that entered the country under irregular circumstances, confirmed the Public Security Ministry (MSP).
Liquor, beer and cigarettes are the three most common items that smugglers transport across the border. Fiscal Control Police last year confiscated 123,072 bottles of beer, 36,464 bottles of whisky and more than 21 million cigarettes.
Two years after Costa Rica passed an aggressive national anti-smoking law, the number of illegal smokes seized by law enforcement has skyrocketed by 89 percent, according to figures from the Finance Ministry.
Contraband might seem like a good deal, but law enforcement officials argue that the illicit trade aids money launderers, weakens an already strained tax collection system and could even pose a health hazard.
Costa Rica’s Social Security System, or the Caja, wants to reduce the number of people who smoke, as well as the high costs public hospitals incur in treating patients with tobacco-related illness.
