Tri-border zone fuels illicit tobacco trade

摘要

The tri-border area between Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay in South America is a notorious breeding ground for illicit activity, and the tobacco industry suffers more than most. Contraband goods of every description pass through Paraguay's trading hub, Ciudad del Este - CDs and DVDs, fake designer clothing, sunglasses and watches, sports shoes, games and electronics and, of course, one of the world's most smuggled and lucrative legal substances: cigarettes.rnBritish American Tobacco's (BAT) Global Head of Anti Illicit Trade, Pat Heneghan, said the key problem in the tri-border zone is smuggling from low duty Paraguay to higher duty Argentina and Brazil, across the porous border between the three countries: often rivers or rainforest riven by dirt tracks and unmonitored by any policeman or customs officer.