KINGSTON, Jamaica — Carreras Limited is commending the St James Street Crime Unit and the Counter Terrorism and Organized Crime Investigation Branch (C-TOC) of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) for a bust last week of 58 cartons of counterfeit Craven A cigarettes.

In a media release, the cigarette distribution company said the seized items had an estimated street value of $545,200 and represented “significant headway in the fight against illicit cigarettes”.

Carreras singled out C-TOC for particular praise, saying the branch has been relentless in its efforts to stamp out the illegal trade in cigarette products, which now account for almost 20 per cent of the total cigarette market in Jamaica.

Managing director of Carreras Limited, Marcus Steele, was quoted in the release as saying: “The recent dramatic hike in the Special Consumption Tax on cigarettes has provided even greater fuel to the illicit trade in cigarettes, which only gets more lucrative with increasing levels of taxation on cigarettes implemented by the Government. This unfortunately equates to more revenues lost by the Government, which we estimate to be almost $2 billion annually”.