Popular tags
An ICIJ Investigation

Tobacco Underground

The world’s most widely smuggled legal substance fuels organized crime and corruption, and robs governments of needed tax money.

  • Working with reporters in more than a dozen countries, ICIJ is charting the frontlines of the illicit traffic in cigarettes.
  • Relying on interviews with insiders and thousands of internal industry documents, reporters pieced together how smuggling played a key role in big tobacco’s strategy to boost sales and increase market share.
Tobacco Underground

The world’s most widely smuggled legal substance

The illicit trafficking of tobacco is a multibillion-dollar business, fueling organized crime and corruption, robbing governments of needed tax money, and spurring addiction to a deadly product.

By Marina Walker Guevara
Oct 20, 2008

Support independent journalism

ICIJ’s investigations are supported by readers like you. If you believe journalism can help bring about positive change, join our ICIJ Insiders community now!

ICIJ is dedicated to ensuring all reports we publish are accurate. If you believe you have found an inaccuracy let us know.

1710 Rhode Island Ave NW | 11th floor
Washington DC 20006 USA

contact@icij.org

About us
Investigations
Follow us

© 2020 — The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. All rights reserved.
Privacy Policy | Terms of Use