Maltese Customs officers seized over 15 million counterfeit cigarettes after a physical examination of two containers at the freeport.

The containers were declared to be carrying cigarettes from an Indian tobacco company for a client in Turkey. Samples taken were passed to a representative of the firm that manufactures the brand who, after analysis, informed the Customs Department that the cigarettes were counterfeit.

The containers, containing 9,590,000 counterfeit cigarettes of one particular brand and 5,690,000 of another, 15,280,000 in total, were seized.

In the same operation, said Customs officials, three other containers on their way to North Africa were held. They were found to contain 38,000 pairs of counterfeit sport shoes of two particular brands.

Other investigations are being carried out into other products, such as cellular telephony accessories, sports shoes and sandals.