In Brazil, illegal cigarettes represent 48% of the market

In Rio, where the number reaches 44%, they moved R $ 1 billion in 2017. Income that caught the attention of militias that work in communities.

Any stall on the street has to sell, even the corn vendor completes the day's income with cigarettes. The pack, offered in downtown Rio de Janeiro, comes from another country and is much cheaper than competitors made in Brazil. The package of ten packs is still on sale: R $ 25. It's all Paraguayan cigarettes and arrives here illegally.

From the border, the illegal product travels on important highways until it reaches commerce. Gift packaging indicates that the product cannot be marketed outside Paraguay. Even so, it is already the best seller in the state of RJ.

In the country, four of the ten best-selling brands are clandestine. Paraguayan cigarettes are cheaper because taxes in the neighboring country are lower than here. The profit margin is large. When it leaves the factory, each packet costs about 20 cents and reaches the final consumer at a price of R $ 2,50 to R $ 3.

In Brazil, illegal cigarettes already represent 48% of the market. In Rio alone, where that number reaches 44%, they moved R $ 1 billion in 2017, a source of income that caught the attention of militias that work in communities. See in the report of FANTASTIC.