The Health Bureau (SSM) announced in a statement yesterday that, acting on a tipoff, its Tobacco and Alcohol Prevention and Control Office, in conjunction with the Macau Customs Service, raided two convenience stores in Zape on Wednesday selling illegal tobacco products,
According to the statement, the raid unearthed large quantities of cigarettes with non-compliant labelling in breach of Macau’s legal requirements. One shop, was found with 159 packs, totalling 3,180 cigarettes, while the other had 492 packs, 9,840 cigarettes.
The SSM statement underlined that the cigarette packs lacked the health warning labels mandated by Macau’s “Law on the Prevention and Control of Smoking” and its related regulations. Additionally, neither shop could produce valid import documentation for the products.
The Macau Customs Service (SA) has confiscated the illicit cigarettes, and both it and the Health Bureau will initiate legal proceedings against the two shops. If their violations are confirmed, they face fines of up to 200,000 patacas, with the illegal goods subject to forfeiture and destruction.
This undated photo provided by the Health Bureau (SSM) yesterday shows the illegal cigarettes seized from two convenience stores in Zape in a joint operation by SSM inspectors and Macau Customs Service officers.
