KINGSTON, Jamaica —  A four-day operation dubbed ‘Stir It Up’ by the Jamaica Customs Agency (JCA)in collaboration with the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) saw the seizure of 80,575 sticks of illicit cigarettes valued at J$2.4 million. 

The operation targeted approximately 20 business establishments across the parishes of St Ann, St James and Westmoreland.  

In St Ann on the first day of the operation 16,500 cigarettes were seized, on Day three 50,675 sticks of cigarette were confiscated in St James and Westmoreland, and an additional 13,400 sticks in St Ann on Day 4.

Customs is advising the public that while counterfeit cigarettes may be cheaper, they pose a serious health risk as the contents are unregulated and may be harmful.  

Meanwhile, analysis of the Year-to-Date (YTD) figures of domestic importation of cigarettes reveals a decline in the number of sticks by 94.505 million or 31.4 per cent, according to the JCA.  Total duties collected from cigarette imports also declined by J$1.007 billion or 25.7 per cent.  

However this drop in revenue was due in part to a 31.4 per cent decline in Special Consumption Tax Specifics (SCTS) amounting to J$992.302 million, Customs said.