Cruise Guests Attempt to Illegally Import Thousands of Cigarettes
If you think you are smart enough to successfully commit a crime while cruising without getting caught, think again.
This was the case for two female passengers who, on April 17, 2025, disembarked a cruise carrying illegally imported cigarettes.
The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at California’s Long Beach Cruise Port discovered 749 cartons of cigarettes hidden within 10 pieces of luggage.
The duo had been on a cruise to Ensenada, Mexico, and willingly went through CBP inspection – which is where the contraband was identified.
Per the CPB website, vacationers can only bring 200 cigarettes or 100 cigars back into the US after traveling abroad – so these cruise guests far exceeded the limit.
Larger quantities of cigarettes are not considered for personal use, but rather for commercial use, and requires a special importer permit from the US Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB).
Even though the passengers had the corresponding purchase receipts available, they were unable to produce the required permits to import the large quantity of tobacco products to the United States.
Additionally, tobacco product labels must all fall under the approved FDA standards, including warning and accurate product descriptions – and it’s unclear if these met this requirement or not.
Cheryl M. Davies, CBP Director of Field Operations in Los Angeles, said, “The importation of tobacco products is highly regulated from both tax and consumer safety perspectives.”
“Travelers who intentionally disregard U.S. importation laws and regulations often pay a high price,” Davies added, emphasizing the severity of the situation.
Between the ten pieces of luggage, authorities discovered 43 cartons of Marlboro Silvers, 58 cartons of Newport regulars, 112 cartons of Marlboro Red, 210 cartons of Marlboro Gold, and 326 cartons of Newport 100s cigarettes.
The amount of individual cigarettes was estimated to be about 150,000, with the average cost of a single one being $0.40 in the United States.
At the low end, it was estimated that each of the cartons would sell for about $80 in California — meaning the total value of all of the cigarettes was just shy of $59,920.
Every single one of the 749 cartons was immediately seized, and under the supervision of the CBP, will be destroyed.
The Crime and the Consequences
CBP has thus far kept the identity of the offending cruisers confidential, and did not say if any additional consequences were levied for their actions. In addition to seizing the cigarettes, the passengers could also be subjected to fines, or even jail time.
Africa R. Bell, CBP Port Director of Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport, spoke about how these types of schemes are usually meant to rake in a big profit without paying taxes. But in doing so, innocent consumers are put at risk.
“Selling illegally imported cigarettes could yield high profits for underground vendors due to the low cost of cigarettes when purchased overseas and the evasion of taxes owed upon import,” Bell added.
However, the guests did consent to being searched during the disembarkation process, so there’s a chance they may have received leniency in exchange for their cooperation.
According to cruise tracking data, the only cruise ship in Long Beach on the day of the seizure was the 4,126-guest Carnival Firenze – which had just returned from a 5-night sailing to Mexico. However, this has not been confirmed.
Since guests have to go through security screenings before re-boarding while in port, it’s also interesting that the ship security team did not flag the large amount of cigarettes the duo was bringing onboard – unless perhaps the women were bringing the items on in smaller waves throughout the day.
Smoking is allowed onboard Carnival’s fleet in designated locations, so smaller amounts of cigarettes likely wouldn’t ring too many alarm bells.
There’s also a possibility that the guests were buying the cigarettes onboard in increments throughout their sailing, and therefore wouldn’t have had to go through security with them.
But normally, the crew members selling the cartons would be advising guests on the allowance upon returning to the US. Some cruise lines also impose limits on how many cartons can be sold onboard in a single transaction.
Read Also: Can You Smoke on a Cruise Ship – What to Know
That being said, Carnival can still issue a lifetime ban for the two cruisers in light of this information – even though they were technically caught in the cruise terminal after their voyage had ended.
Just last month, a fight broke out in the luggage hall of the Galveston Cruise Port in Texas during disembarkation. All 24 of the Carnival passengers involved were immediately placed on the Do Not Sail list for their actions.
Take this as a warning — people who work at cruise ports have seen it all and will find it all. If you are thinking about doing something illegal, do not do it or be ready to pay the price.
Cruise Guests Attempt to Illegally Import Thousands of Cigarettes