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• Cigarette market under threat - Organised crime unit called in  

Local cigarette retailer Carreras Limited is in a fight to reclaim its market from what highly placed sources say is a thriving underground trade for cigarettes controlled by bosses of organised crime.

Carreras, a listed company that is 51 per cent owned by British American Tobacco (BAT), has been running press advertisements warning consumers of counterfeit Craven A cigarettes on the market, a brand made by its sister operations in the region, and which it has exclusive licence to sell here.

The racketeers undersell Carreras by some $10,000 per case to retailers, Wednesday Business understands. On the weekend, Carreras also began to issue warnings about two other brands, Rothmans and Benson & Hedges over which it also has exclusive rights.

Yesterday, attempts at official comment from Carreras' managing director Michael Bernard failed, but well placed sources say company executives are keeping quiet for security reasons, saying the perpetrators are considered 'dangerous' people.

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