Mykonos: seizure of smuggled cigarettes at the airport

A large quantity of smuggled tobacco products was detected and seized at Mykonos airport, according to an announcement from the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) reported by Naftemporiki on Thursday, 24 September 2026. Customs officers found 120,000 smuggled cigarettes, packaged in 6,000 packs, as well as 4.5 kilograms of hookah tobacco in 50-gram packages. The goods were found in the possession of two passengers who had arrived on the island on a flight from Cairo, via an intermediate stop in Athens. According to the AADE, the evaded duties and taxes that the state would have collected from the sale of these products amount to €25,575.57, a figure that reflects the damage to public revenue that would have resulted from placing these products on the market without payment of the applicable taxes.

The detection of the shipment did not happen by chance. According to the Authority’s announcement, the check was carried out after “utilization of information and targeted risk analysis”. This method is a basic tool of customs authorities for identifying suspicious baggage and passengers at entry points with high passenger traffic, without requiring exhaustive checking of all arrivals, which would be impossible at a destination with such high passenger flow. In this case, the route from Cairo to Mykonos, via Athens, appears to have presented the characteristics that led customs officers to conduct a targeted on-site inspection of the two passengers’ baggage, resulting in the detection of the smuggled products. The AADE has not disclosed further details about how this particular journey was assessed as suspicious, as such information is typically not announced publicly so as not to undermine the effectiveness of the method in future checks.

The case highlights the role of Mykonos airport as one of the entry gates with the largest international passenger traffic in the Aegean, particularly in the months following the peak of the tourism season, when flights to and from destinations outside the European Union remain frequent. Smuggling of tobacco products is an ongoing issue for public finances, as it deprives the state of revenues from excise taxes and VAT, while entry points with high tourism traffic, such as the islands of the Cyclades, are considered exposed to such attempts due to the large number of flights and passengers passing through them daily. Enhanced checks at airports with high passenger traffic form part of a broader supervision framework applied at entry gates of island destinations during and immediately after the tourism season, a period when passenger traffic remains higher than in the winter months. This specific seizure is part of this supervision framework, though based on available information it does not document a broader trend or increase in related cases at this particular airport.

A case has been opened against the two passengers, with the matter at the stage of customs and judicial investigation. No further details have been disclosed regarding their identity, nationality, gender, or the detailed flight information, and the AADE has not announced the next judicial step in the case or any possible trial date. According to the applicable legal framework, the two passengers are presumed innocent until any final conviction, as the presumption of innocence applies and no charge has, at this stage, resulted in a court decision. The case remains ongoing and any further developments, such as possible referral to trial, are expected to be announced by the competent authorities.