Ouagadougou: The High Court (TGI) of Yako incinerated, this Saturday, August 17, 2024 in Yako, 678 cartons of cigarettes that did not comply with import regulations, worth 4 million 407,000 CFA francs, seized by the Territorial Brigade of the Yako gendarmerie, as part of its control missions in Passoré.
As part of its missions to combat organized crime and protect people and property in the Passoré province, the Yako Territorial Gendarmerie Brigade seized a significant quantity of prohibited cigarettes from the hands of smugglers.
678 cigarette cartridges imported in violation of the rules in force were reduced to ashes on Saturday August 17, 2024 by the High Court (TGI) of Yako, in the presence of the administrative, military and paramilitary authorities of the Passoré province.
According to the Prosecutor of Faso, near the TGI of Yako, Lamine Kaboré, the incineration of the product follows an arrest of smugglers having illegally imported cigarettes which they were undoubtedly transporting to the Passoré
markets.
Before authorizing the complete destruction of the seized product, the judicial authority recalled the legal basis of the activity, in particular the Customs Code on the importation of certain products including cigarettes.
Lamine Kaboré also informed that before the incineration, the court had already emptied its seizure, at the end of which a decision was rendered, thus ordering the confiscation and destruction of the seized cigarettes.
‘You know that smuggling issues are often linked to security issues. However, given the context in which we find ourselves, it is very important that these questions are treated rigorously, according to the law,’ he made clear.
For Mr. Kaboré, when cigarettes are imported in violation of the rules, they expose populations to health issues and can negatively affect the country’s economy.
By qualifying this act of incineration as a symbol of the fight against smuggling and terrorism, the Prosecutor of Faso, near the TGI of Yako and the president of the special de
legation of the commune of Yako representing the high commissioner of Passoré, Boukaré Zomodo , congratulated and thanked the actors involved in the seizure.
They invited the population to be more vigilant and collaborate with the Defense and Security Forces in this locality located in the Northern region, especially in a context where the importation of prohibited and counterfeit products rhymes with terrorism.
As a reminder, the cartons of prohibited cigarettes that do not comply with import standards in Burkina Faso were seized on April 29, 2024 by the Yako Territorial Gendarmerie Brigade.
Source: Burkina Information Agency