Court rejects return of van used to transport contraband cigarettes A judge has thrown out a request by a man found guilty of tax and duty evasion for the return of a van he used to distribute his illegal products. The case dates back to November 2017, when Raymond Camilleri, from Swieqi, was stopped by Customs officers in Cospicua following a tip-off that he was involved in the supply of contraband cigarettes. His Peugeot Partner van was searched and the officers found several boxes of contraband cigarettes. In a search at Camilleri''s residence, the police and Customs officers found a stash of contraband cigarettes which were also confiscated. Camilleri filed a court case complaining that his vehicle had been seized when it was not meant to, according to law. He said that according to a notice of seizure issued by Customs, officers had found 155 cigarette boxes in his vehicle and 3,2000 cartons at his home. However, he only had 105 cartons in his car which amounted to 10,000 fewer cigarettes than claimed by the Customs officers. He also argued that Customs had no right to seize the cigarettes found in his home, because these had been imported by friends as a gift and were thus not subject to excise duties.