The Tax Authority conducted enforcement operations at the Carmel market in Tel Aviv. Intelligence information revealed that cigarettes were being sold at unrealistic prices in the market (5-10 NIS a packet instead of over 30 NIS) which raised the suspicion that goods had been smuggled in without tax being paid on them. Tax auditors as well as police and tax investigators raided three cigarette stands in the market and discovered suspected smuggled cigarettes and sellers who were not registered at VAT offices.
Authorities confiscated thousands of cigarette packets worth over 300,000 NIS which were supposed to include 1.5 million NIS of taxes. The salesmen were taken to tax offices for interrogation.