RUSI Contributes to New Study on Illicit Cigarette Trade in Maghreb Region

RUSI’s analysis was used to provide additional context to the study, in the form of a standalone chapter on illicit trade in cigarettes and other diverted products.

RUSI’s analysis notes that illicit trade in the Maghreb is a longstanding form of cross-border activity, and an important component of local political economies.  Understood as the unlawful production, transportation or sale of otherwise legal commodities, illicit trade includes a significant range of goods. These are smuggled across vast, sparsely populated spaces, dissected increasingly by of cially closed and reinforced borders. Many of these borders remain porous – traversed by illicit  ows of goods for which demand exists on both sides.

RUSI provided analysis on the smuggling dynamics underpinning the trends revealed by the data, alongside qualitative commentary on other diverted products within the region. The research draws on interviews with law enforcement, industry and academic experts within the region.

The independent annual KPMG Project SUN report investigates the scale of the illicit cigarette trade in the Maghreb. The quantitative data supplied by KPMG was supplemented by qualitative research from RUSI. KPMG was commissioned to produce the study by PMI.

The KPMG study can be accessed here.

Further information on RUSI's work on illicit trade can be found here.