Belgian customs raided an illegal cigarette factory near Ninove, seizing about 4.5 million counterfeit cigarettes and detaining 11 people. The site is the twelfth such facility shut down in Belgium in 2026, as the country increasingly serves as a distribution hub for traffickers targeting markets like Britain and France. Belgian seizures reached 200 million counterfeit cigarettes in 2025 (about €97 million in unpaid duties), while the EU loses an estimated €13 billion annually to the illicit tobacco trade.
Belgium Cracks Down: Customs Seize 4.5 Million Counterfeit Cigarettes in Ninove Raid
Belgian customs officials raided an illegal cigarette factory in the centre of the country (Maude BRULARD)
The air inside a warehouse near Ninove was thick with tobacco when Belgian customs officers swept into an illicit cigarette production site on Wednesday, seizing roughly 4.5 million counterfeit cigarettes bound for the black market.
Officers found the cigarettes stacked on pallets and dismantled what authorities described as a complete production line, including a drying turbine. Eleven people were detained at the scene — four Polish nationals and seven Ukrainians — many discovered asleep in makeshift dormitories beside the machinery.
"Belgium is attractive because it is a major transport hub and has plenty of warehouses close to the countries where the goods are sold," customs spokeswoman Florence Angelici told AFP.
The Ninove facility is the twelfth clandestine factory dismantled in Belgium so far in 2026, a year that appears on track to set a new record for such discoveries. While Poland remains the leading source of counterfeit cigarette production in Europe, Belgium has become an important distribution and storage hub for traffickers targeting markets such as Britain and France.
Belgian customs said that in 2025 some 200 million counterfeit cigarettes were seized nationwide, equivalent to about €97 million in unpaid duties and taxes. At EU level, the European Court of Auditors estimates the illicit tobacco market costs member states roughly €13 billion in lost revenue each year, and that about one in 10 cigarettes smoked in the bloc is either smuggled or produced illegally.
Authorities described the trade as "large-scale organised fraud spanning all of Europe". The operation at Ninove was coordinated with Europol, and an agency official was present at the scene to support investigators.
Officials said the warehouse was located at the far edge of a discount-store parking lot in an industrial zone and was of a typical size for such illegal plants. Although the site contained a full production line, it was smaller than another recently uncovered facility that reportedly employed about 50 people.
Investigators said it remained unclear which criminal network the detainees were linked to or how long the equipment had been operating; the warehouse lease and related records may provide further leads. Inside the premises, customs found living facilities — beds, washing facilities, a kitchen and even a small fitness corner — but no windows, an apparent attempt to avoid attracting the attention of neighbours.
"The goal is to ensure the neighbours have no idea what is going on inside," Angelici said.
Belgian authorities said the raid underlines ongoing efforts to disrupt cross-border counterfeiting networks and highlighted the need for improved international coordination to tackle the growing illicit tobacco trade.
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