Customs officers seized large amounts of suspected duty-free tobacco in Limassol and Nicosia, resulting in the arrest of two Greek Cypriot men, it said on Wednesday.

In the first case, police alerted Limassol customs officers after searching the vehicle of a 64-year-old man on Sunday.

Officers found 51 cartons of cigarettes, 83 cartons of heated cigarettes and 1.7kg of rolling tobacco.

Customs officials said the products lacked the required health warnings in Greek and Turkish, as well as security features and traceability codes, indicating duty had not been paid.

The man was arrested and both the tobacco products and his vehicle were seized.

He was later released after agreeing to an out-of-court settlement, paying €6,500 and a further €500 to recover his vehicle. The tobacco will be destroyed.

In a separate operation on Tuesday, customs investigators searched a kiosk and a private residence in Nicosia linked to a 53-year-old man.

They seized 137 cartons of cigarettes, 17 cartons of heated cigarettes and 6.5kg of rolling tobacco.

The suspect was arrested and later released after paying €12,000. Customs said the seized tobacco products will also be destroyed.