The Customs Department has intercepted one of the largest-ever consignments of contraband cigarettes.

Eight million cigarettes were found in a number of containers seized by the department after discrepancies were noticed in the

documentation.

The department said that the goods, which came from the Far East, were on their way to North Africa.

The containers should have been carrying 1,055 pieces of household goods.

After scanning the containers using the Vehicle and Container Inspection system (Vacis), customs officials opened the container and found only 182 boxes of household goods but 816 boxes containing 1,000 cigarettes each, for a total of 8.5 million contraband cigarettes.

The estimated loss in value, duties and Vat would have been Lm1.3 million.

Last month, another 3.3 million cigarettes were seized by Customs.