COMMISSIONER OF Customs Danville Walker says the Government is losing hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue due to the illegal importation of cigarettes and other contraband.

Speaking yesterday during a press conference at the Jamaica Customs Department in Kingston, Walker told journalists that over a two-week period, the department conducted a number of raids across the Corporate Area and the Western region of the island. This resulted in the seizure of a quantity of cigarettes, bleaching cream, rum and counterfeit batteries.

Lucrative trade

On one flight alone, customs officers were able to confiscate at least seven suitcases and four bags packed with cigarettes.

"It's an extremely lucrative trade," said Walker. "Cigarettes are a relatively high-duty item and there is a fairly active trade in imported cigarettes on which no taxes are paid."

Walker said these cigarettes were competing unfairly with the local cigarette market, which meant that the Jamaican Government was losing millions of dollars annually.

Walker warned that the larger the trade was allowed to grow, the more it would impair the duty collected by the Government, as the cigarette industry was one of the country's highest sources of revenue.

"This cannot be seen as a trivial issue anymore," said Walker. "We are going to be allocating more resources in stopping this trade."

He also pointed to the possibility of individuals using these illegal cigarette chains as a way of smuggling other illegal items into the island, such as guns and drugs.

"If you can smuggle in a case of cigarettes, just think what else could be in that case," he said.

Assist in fight

Walker called on citizens to assist in the fight against the sale of illegally imported goods by abstaining from purchasing or selling them.

He said the illegal cigarettes could be easily identified from their packaging. Cigarettes that are to be sold in Jamaica have a huge 'Smoking Kills' label on the front of the package, whereas those that are brought in illegally have a smaller warning from the United States surgeon general printed on the sides.

Walker said wholesalers and owners of in-bond stores who were buying and selling illegal cigarettes were putting their licence in jeopardy. "We can't have persons using a legitimate business as a duty-free shop to sell illegally smuggled-in cigarettes in Jamaica," he said.