19/02/2025
Customs officers in Noumea made an exceptional seizure of nearly 76 tonnes of contraband cigarettes, concealed in several containers that were on board a commercial ship serving as a storage platform served by powerful speedboats. This is the largest seizure of tobacco made by French Customs on the national territory.
On Wednesday February 5 2025, officers of the Noumea Customs Brigade searched the “Kokoo”, a Tanzanian-flagged merchant ship, coming from Taiwan which was calling at Noumea after a long journey along the Australian coast.
The visit and search of the ship led to the discovery of 75.8 tonnes of suspected illegal cigarettes, the equivalent of one year’s cigarette consumption on New Caledonian territory.
The goods were concealed in five containers deposited in the holds of this ore carrier, which is normally dedicated to bulk transport.
During the operation, the service also discovered two speedboats, each equipped with four engines of 300 horsepower, and a tank of 10,000 litres of fuel intended to supply these boats.
These elements support the hypothesis that this vessel was specially adapted to serve as a floating platform from which the speedboats ensure illegal landing on the coast in “go fast” mode. It appears that the crew received delivery orders from the sponsors of this large-scale organized trafficking.
Investigations by customs agents into the brands of the seized cigarettes indicate that the goods were destined for the Australian market.
This case illustrates the strong collaboration of the State’s services in the overseas territories:
- In coordination with the intelligence unit of the Customs Directorate, the Maritime Information Fusion Center (CFIM) of the Maritime Zone Commander (CZM) and the Armed Forces in New Caledonia (FANC) respectively facilitated the maritime surveillance of the vessel prior to the control operations and the smooth running of the logistics operations.
- The services of the Territorial Directorate of the National Police (DTPN) carried out technical exploitation work on all the digital media held by the defendants as part of the investigation by the ICC expert of STPJ 988. They also checked the right of residence of the flight crews and the defendants by the STPAF 988 police officers and analyzed the travel documents of the crew, composed of Burmese and Chinese nationals, thanks to the expertise of the STPAF 988 Document Fraud Analyst.
In addition, it is important to highlight the importance of the support provided by the services of the Autonomous Port and its partners for the handling operations related to this procedure.
This case also demonstrates the strong level of cooperation that prevails between the New Caledonia Customs Directorate and the Australian Border Force (ABF). The exchange of information with our partners has contributed to the success of this operation, to the understanding of the syndicate and allows the continuation of investigations in Australia. The fight against tobacco smuggling is a shared priority for the French and Australian governments.
On Friday February 7, the captain of the ship was presented to the Noumea Criminal Court which sentenced him to 10 months of suspended imprisonment, a customs fine of 41,750,000 Pacific francs (349,865 euros), as well as the confiscation of:
- cigarettes whose value is estimated at 4 billion 131 million Pacific francs, or 34.6 million euros on the legal market,
- Five x 40-foot containers with an estimated value of 1,750,000 Pacific francs (14,665 euros),
- Two fast boats with an estimated value of 40,000,000 Pacific francs (335,200 euros).
Additional comments attributable to ABF Assistant Commissioner Customs Compliance, Enforcement & Targeting Tony Smith:
“The Australian Border Force (ABF) first became aware of the commercial vessel when it was acting suspiciously as it was approaching the east coast of Australia.
“The ABF undertook extensive surveillance of the vessel while building an appreciation to assess its potential risk to the Australian border. The commercial ship later changed course toward New Caledonia, upon which the ABF engaged with authorities to alert them to a potential risk.
“It is in everyone’s best interest to ensure any relevant information and intelligence is shared amongst partners to protect the security interests of the Pacific region.
“It is critically important to work with neighbouring countries, to disrupt criminal actors and threats to border security.
“This operation is a great example of cross-border collaboration, whereby the monitoring of suspicious activity was passed onto the appropriate authorities and acted on swiftly.
“We are proud to work alongside French Customs in New Caledonia and will continue to liaise with our international partners as we target the illicit tobacco trade.”
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