Customs officers seized cigarettes and hookah tobacco at the Deryneia crossing point on Wednesday during routine checks.

In the first case, officers stopped a vehicle driven by a 46-year-old Hungarian national and found 59 boxes containing 200 cigarettes each.

The cigarettes did not have the required health warnings in Greek and Turkish, security markings or traceability codes, meaning they had not been legally cleared for duty.

The tobacco products and the vehicle were impounded.

The driver was arrested and later released after agreeing to pay an out of court fine of €3,600, along with €400 for the return of his vehicle.

Later on Wednesday, customs officers stopped a Turkish Cypriot taxi carrying an Israeli passenger who was travelling to Larnaca Airport.

A search of the passenger’s luggage found four one-kilogram packages of hookah tobacco that also lacked the required markings.

The passenger was released after paying an out of court fine of €1,400.