Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/1544088
Tobacco Asia 23 • Double your resource value • Use 100% expanded fine- cut for MYO and RYO • Untouchable product quality • Impex – pressure/vacuum technology • DIET - Dry Ice Expansion Technology AircoDIET has supplied more than 55 DIET plants worldwide, many of which have been turn-key. We continuously develop and refine the DIET process and our DIET plants have above 95% uptime with a dry yield better than 98.5% through the plant. www.aircodiet.com Over 100% tobacco expansion He expressed gratitude to the observers and non-party states for attending and was optimistic that more countries would join. Throughout the week, WHO FCTC speakers described illicit trade as increasing- ly sophisticated and closely linked to organized crime. However, journalists questioned the Secretariat on whether this portrayal aligns with regional enforcement realities, noting that many studies of illicit markets show significant variation across borders, tax differences, and local enforcement capabilities. Black argued that the rise in global cigarette seizures indicates improved detec- tion rather than growth in illicit markets, a point some analysts dispute because seizure data does not necessarily reflect actual consumption. Global enforcement pressure The high-level MOP4 session brought together cross-border enforcement agencies, prosecutors, researchers, and investigative journalists to discuss the illicit tobacco trade. Interpol's director of strategic partnerships, Dr. Ying Wu, told attendees that illicit tobacco is increasingly linked to broader "poly-crime" operations—such as drug trafficking, counterfeit pharmaceuticals, money laundering, and corruption—and that criminal groups readily shift among commodities, using the same routes, logistics, and clandestine supply chains. She warned that enforcement gaps, under-regulated free-trade zones, and juris- dictional blind spots enable illegal flows to flourish. Interpol highlighted operations in South America and international efforts, including Operation Pangea, which recently seized counterfeit vaping products contaminated with harmful substances, sold online and shipped through cross-border courier networks. Prosecutors from Gabon and Latvia described national challenges rooted in po- rous borders, corruption, resource constraints, and the difficulty of proving individual criminal intent in smuggling cases. Gabonese prosecutor Perrine Ada Obiang detailed reliance on unofficial river crossings, limited scanning capacity, and complex supply chains originating in Cameroon and Nigeria. Latvian prosecutor Lakita Sinkiewicz highlighted cases involving hidden compart- ments in semi-trailers and stressed that many illegal trade prosecutions in Europe are increasingly related to e-cigarettes and vaping products, which Latvia bans from online sales to prevent unregulated imports targeting minors. She pointed out that many illegal vaping product sellers operate from abroad, making enforcement more difficult. Civil-society organizations and investigative journalists raised broader structural critiques of global enforcement. Andrei Ciurcanu of the Organized Crime and Corrup- tion Reporting Project (OCCRP) said investigators "often find smugglers and com- panies working hand in hand," but only in environments where authorities are either corrupt or overwhelmed. FCTC MOP4 press conference. MOP4 outcome includes working groups on key manu- facturing inputs and assistance and cooperation, and a mandate for the Secretariat, UNOODC, and WCO to map global seizure data to improve enforcement. Parties also backed higher licensing fees to fund monitoring and enforcement.