By Muhammed Ali Gurtas</p> <p>ANKARA (AA) – Turkey seized smuggled goods worth over 3 billion Turkish liras (some $630 million) in 2018, the country's trade minister announced Saturday.</p> <p>In a statement issued on the International Customs Day, Ruhsar Pekcan said value of smuggled goods captured by the officials surged 20 percent on a yearly basis.</p> <p>"Smuggling leads to serious loss in public revenues, unfair competition, income inequality, and economic imbalance," Pekcan said.</p> <p>"While measures are being taken to stimulate the legal trade, we continue to fight against smuggling to prevent financing of crime and terrorist organizations.</p> <p>"The economic losses of our country are prevented and the competitive capacity of honest traders is protected with the measures taken," she said.</p> <p>According to the statement, the items included electronic appliances, tobacco, alcohol, food, drugs, fuel, and luxury vehicles.</p> <p>Official figures revealed that Turkish officials confiscated 15.7 million packages of contraband cigarettes in 2018.</p> <p>Hitting 21 percent in 2014, the rate of illegal tobacco in the country recorded a gradual decline over the past few years and fell to 5.8 percent in 2018.</p> <p>"At this point, the rate of smuggled cigarettes in our country fell far below the EU's average of 15 percent and the global average of 10 percent," Pekcan said.</p> <p>"As a result of this rapid decline, the country's tax revenue from tobacco increased by nearly 4 billion Turkish liras," she added.</p> <p>The trade minister also said 1,500 tons of illegal fuel and 46.3 tons of narcotics were seized by Turkish authorities through the inspections in 2018.
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