Something still fishy at HSA?

[pedromendes]

This article from CA brings up one big question: we thought HSA had weeded out those parties that were skimming cigars and selling them into the grey market? How do SO MANY cigars leave unnoticed?

[Puros Y Vino]

Is it possible a few enterprising Italians spent a month on the Island, bought up dozens of boxes a day and then had them shipped? Dumb of them to list the contents as eggs. That makes me wonder if the shipment came via refrigerated freight. If they didn't that'd raise some eyebrows. I understand that a lot or resorts on Cuba are Spanish or Italian owned and run. They must be importing a lot of their food as I can't imagine Cuba is able to provide them with enough supplies. Any ship dropping off supplies can surely fill up with other supplies. The article doesn't mention the origin of the shipment. That'd be interesting to know.

[Colt45]

If they are counterfeit as claimed, they'd have never been counted to begin with.

Another Article

[Puros Y Vino]

If they are counterfeit as claimed, they'd have never been counted to begin with.

Another Article

It's in HSA's best interest to claim they're counterfeit. Not the highest resolution photos but those boxes look OK to me.

[riazp]

I somehow doubt they are counterfit cigars...who fakes Mag 46's?? and I somehow think those cigar went home with those guys in the picture lol

[Nino]

Is it possible a few enterprising Italians spent a month on the Island, bought up dozens of boxes a day and then had them shipped? Dumb of them to list the contents as eggs. That makes me wonder if the shipment came via refrigerated freight. If they didn't that'd raise some eyebrows. I understand that a lot or resorts on Cuba are Spanish or Italian owned and run. They must be importing a lot of their food as I can't imagine Cuba is able to provide them with enough supplies. Any ship dropping off supplies can surely fill up with other supplies. The article doesn't mention the origin of the shipment. That'd be interesting to know.

It says in the article :

The two consignments, containing a total of 63 boxes with an approximate weight of more than one ton, once introduced into the market would reach a commercial value of more than one million euros

Either a few zeros have been obmitted or it is just a hoax to demonstrate "vigilance" - 63 boxes weighing more than a ton .........

You don't need a container for that - just 2 suitcases.

As for the value ... a million euros for 63 boxes would translate to 625 euros a stick -

And btw : most food supplies to Cuba ( Hotels and Cuban stores ) come from the USofA - there are 2 areas not affected by the embargo : Medicine and Food.

The USA is the largest supplier/vendor of foodstuff to Cuba supplying around 60 % iirc.

Nino

If they are counterfeit as claimed, they'd have never been counted to begin with.

Another Article

The data is from above mentioned article. And, right, 63 boxes would not have been counted ...

Smells funny.

[MPS]

Someone got too greedy and didn't pay the bill.

[Puros Y Vino]

And btw : most food supplies to Cuba ( Hotels and Cuban stores ) come from the USofA - there are 2 areas not affected by the embargo : Medicine and Food.

The USA is the largest supplier/vendor of foodstuff to Cuba supplying around 60 % iirc.

I had no idea the US did that. I always though that since the Russians stopped supporting Cuba that most food imports were from other Caribbean nations or Europe. Thanks for the education there Nino.

And another thought. Who would bother counterfeiting RyJ Cedros? Not a marquee cigar and certainly not worth the trouble of wrapping cedar sheets around them.

[Colt45]

Either a few zeros have been obmitted or it is just a hoax to demonstrate "vigilance" - 63 boxes weighing more than a ton .........

Nino, by boxes, they don't mean individual boxes - there were approximately 50,000 cigars.

The cigars could surely have been stolen. Or only the packaging. Or a combination. Or someone in Italy didn't want to pay the taxes. Or.....

[canadianbeaver]

...63 parcels actually contained boxes of Cuban cigars, ranging from Montecristo No. 2s to Cohiba Behikes, none of them declared. There were approximately 700 to 800 cigars in each parcel, amounting to approximately 50,000 cigars...

[Ryan]

I like this line in the Habanos article,

" Investigations are still ongoing to certify the quality of the tobacco leaf used for making this cigars in order to verify the possible harmfulness for the health of the consumers. "

What's the Italian for "Smoke 'em if you got 'em!"

[canadianbeaver]

"possible harmfulness for the health of the consumers..."

If they decide this, then maybe they should ship them to Canada where no one cares about us anyway.

[Nino]

Nino, by boxes, they don't mean individual boxes - there were approximately 50,000 cigars.

The cigars could surely have been stolen. Or only the packaging. Or a combination. Or someone in Italy didn't want to pay the taxes. Or.....

...63 parcels actually contained boxes of Cuban cigars, ranging from Montecristo No. 2s to Cohiba Behikes, none of them declared. There were approximately 700 to 800 cigars in each parcel, amounting to approximately 50,000 cigars...

My apologies and thank you for the correction - now it makes sense, I just read the HSA article and shook my head ... that's another story/cargo then and it makes more sense.

From the pics shown I see no counterfeit cigars/boxes, very standard and good stuff there

[Nino]

I like this line in the Habanos article,

" Investigations are still ongoing to certify the quality of the tobacco leaf used for making this cigars in order to verify the possible harmfulness for the health of the consumers. "

What's the Italian for "Smoke 'em if you got 'em!"

Andy :

Control de Qualita

[Puros Y Vino]

What's the Italian for "Smoke 'em if you got 'em!"

Fumate si avete.

[Nino]

Ok,

done some googling and found this video of the goods and their seizure by the Guardia de Finanza at FCO airport :

Now - the cigars, boxes and seals plus stamps look perfectly OK to me, and as a previous poster wrote : Who would counterfeit those cigars in cedar ( the RyJ ) ..

Also : the traceable part of the seals is gone, so I rather suspect a very "gray" import through the backdoor that went "broken eggs".

Nino

[Nino]

I had no idea the US did that. I always though that since the Russians stopped supporting Cuba that most food imports were from other Caribbean nations or Europe. Thanks for the education there Nino.

Bundwallah:

I've watched many US farmers in HAV for the trade fair for years and know this first hand, but here's a most recent ( last week ) article from The Independent, UK - as you may see, it's even more than 60% ..:

"One of Fidel's costliest mistakes was to switch investment out of agriculture to a forced industrialisation, a policy that destroyed the farming industry. Two-thirds of all food is now imported, much of it from the US despite the trade embargo, as there are two exemptions to the sanctions. Ironically, that means the US is Cuba's fifth-biggest trading partner."

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/cuba-the-second-revolution-7637139.html

Nino

PD : Found another 2 sources for the food imports at "The Economist" which had a recent Special Report on Cuba :

http://www.economist.com/node/21550416

"Raúl Castro has repeatedly lamented that Cuba imported around 80% of the food it consumed between 2007 and 2009, at a cost of over $1.7 billion a year."

And some more from the same source :

http://www.economist.com/node/21550419

"And the embargo has sprung leaks: in the past few years the United States has sold Cuba food worth up to $960m a year (though it insists on settlement in cash)."

[riazp]

Judging by the video, defenitly Gray market cigars that just got intercepted...

[Colt45]

Also : the traceable part of the seals is gone, so I rather suspect a very "gray" import through the backdoor that went "broken eggs".

So thinking out loud (and trying hard not to speculate too much), if the shipment originated in Cuba and was found in Italy with no barcodes,

could the cigars have been sold in Italy? If not would they have had another destination, or been sold online as gray, or......

Thanks for the vid!

[Scdalak]

Judging by the video, defenitly Gray market cigars that just got intercepted...

Yup!!! They certianly hurt thier chances and odds by indicating a perishable product was enclosed...

[TonyV]

Fumate si avete.

Se li avete, li fumare

[mk05]

Nino

Nooooo you mfers! My ryj coronitas en cedros! Aaaaaarg. Worst part is you know where those were going too.

And of course there were probably either 60000 total cigars and 10000 were taken before the report was filed, or a bunch will be missing after it is submitted to evidence.

Btw those M2 at 1:35 were definitely PSP quality. Lol.

[randomhero1090]

Grey all the way.

[randomhero1090]

...so what do they do with them? I mean, seems silly to destroy them.

[cottierm]

One way or another they will be destroyed, my friend!

Best,

Michel