Albanian Gangs Selling Smuggled Cigs on Social Media

0:00On March 2nd, Albanian organized crime groups are selling cheap smuggled and fake cigarettes directly to British homes through TikTok, Facebook and Instagram. They're offering doorstep delivery of popular brands like Marlboro for £6.50 compared to the usual £17.75 in. UK shops. This black market trade costs the British treasury more than £3 billion a year in lost taxes. These gangs already dominate much of the UK's cocaine trade and use cigarette profits to fund drug trafficking, gun running and people smuggling. Pages in Albanian advertised cartons from Albania or Greece at 6-7 pounds each, far below the 16-pound UK average dodging heavy tobacco. Duties of about 33 pence per cigarette. A recent investigation uncovered several such social media accounts openly pitching express delivery across the country, including trips up north for. Drops. Experts from Albania say it's no surprise, as local criminals have smuggled

1:02tobacco into Europe for over 20 years, with corrupt officials. Sometimes, helping out. After the pages were flagged, TikTok removed two accounts for breaking rules unregulated goods, while Facebook and Instagram said they're looking. Into others. Albania serves as a major hub for counterfeit cigarette factories, like one recently rated in Librage, that churned out millions headed for the UK. Via routes through Greece and Italy. Law enforcement notes, Kurdish and Chinese groups still lead the UK tobacco black market, but Albanians are pushing in hard, as seen in the 20. 15 busts of over 1 million illegal cigarettes hidden in a frozen chicken truck. This shift highlights how versatile these networks are becoming.