Cruise ship passengers try to smuggle 150,000 cigarettes in California, feds say

Don Sweeney, The Charlotte Observer on May 15, 2025

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Two cruise ship passengers arriving at a Southern California port were found with 150,000 cigarettes in their luggage, federal border agents reported.

Agents found 749 cartons of cigarettes in 10 pieces of luggage in Long Beach on April 17, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a Wednesday, May 14, news release.

The two women found with the cigarettes had receipts showing they were legally purchased but did not have proper paperwork to import the large quantity into the U.S., agents said.

They had just arrived on a cruise ship from Ensenada, Mexico.

“Travelers who intentionally disregard U.S. importation laws and regulations often pay a high price,” said Cheryl M. Davies, the agency’s director of field operations in Los Angeles.

The cigarettes, which included 326 cartons of Newport 100s, 58 cartons of Newport regulars, 112 cartons of Marlboro Red, 43 cartons of Marlboro Silver, and 210 cartons of Marlboro Gold cigarettes, had an estimated street value of $59,920, agents said.

The cigarettes will be destroyed, the agency said.

The release did not say whether the passengers were arrested or charged.

Long Beach is about a 30-mile drive south from Los Angeles.

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