Seized: Illegal cigs with 'real' packaging

[MarrickG]

THE Moon Mountain brand of cigarettes might not be familiar to smokers here, but the packaging will surely be.

With health warnings, pictures of miscarried foetuses and oral-cancer sufferers - even the quit-smoking hotline number prominently displayed - it looks like any pack of cigarettes should.

But the new brand is actually illegal here - brought in by syndicates that have upped their game by disguising their illegal goods.

On March 11, Singapore Customs officers seized 16,500 packs of the brand for the first time in a haul. Typically, contraband cigarettes ape legal brands from names to packaging - but never included health warnings and cautionary pictures, a requirement in Singapore.

With Moon Mountain, smugglers have included them. Not only that, they seem to have created their own brand.

Singapore Customs said the brand is not supplied by any local tobacco importer or wholesaler licensed by the Health Sciences Authority. Online checks also did not yield any more data on it.

 

[Lestat]

I've smoked this before. Taste terrible. Their menthol range is not even close. Think the tobacco content is really little.

 

[Cestbon]

Why they don't just copy others brand packaging.

 

[Lestat]

If caught, they may even be sued for copyright infringement.

 

[Cestbon]

Already illegal just do it in better way lo.