During the visit of its delegation to the Regie today, Tuesday, The Global Container Control Program established by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) confirmed its intent to reinforce its support to Lebanon “to end the smuggling of tobacco products to and from the country.” The Regie’s President and Director General, Eng. Nassif Seklaoui hoped to establish “a joint mechanism to reunite in confronting” this phenomenon, stressing that “the Lebanese are entitled to every penny that smugglers, pirates, and counterfeiters steal from them”, revealing that the Regie has been able, “with the security, military, and customs services” to seize “around 15 tons of smuggled tobacco products” since the beginning of this year.
A delegation of the Lebanese customs and the Global Container Control Program visited the headquarters of the Regie today, Tuesday, and was briefed on its achievements, work methods, production facilities, and its efforts in countering tobacco smuggling in Lebanon.
The delegation included the regional coordinator of the program in the MENA Region, Wolfgang Aigner, officials from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Vienna, the Office of the Container Control Program in Lebanon, and the Lebanese customs, in addition to the first secretary of the Australian Embassy in Beirut, Ahmad Mayan.
Last June, the Regie had participated in a traini