For every ten cigarettes consumed in São Paulo, four are illegal and the main reason for the increase in the underground market is the price in the illegal market, which is up to 59% lower. This is what new research from the Ipec institute shows, carried out at the request of the National Forum Against Piracy and Illegality (FNCP).
Despite this, the presence of smuggled cigarettes in traditional retail is falling. In 2019, they accounted for more than half of sales (54%) and now they are 32%. Paraguay is the main manufacturer of illegal products sold in Brazil. But the factories in our neighbor are losing space for local illegal industries controlled by Brazilian gangs.
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Southeast
The survey also shows that the parallel market in the Southeast, the largest consumer region, generated R$3.8 billion, almost 40% of the national total, which, in 2023, was R$9.8 billion.
Rio de Janeiro
The illegal cigarette mafia, controlled by Adilson Oliveira Coutinho Filho, alias Adilsinho, has grown in recent years in Rio and already controls at least 45 of the state’s 92 cities. In almost half of Rio de Janeiro, including the capital and Baixada Fluminense, the sale of Paraguayan cigarettes is prohibited, and only packs produced locally by the gang can be sold.
Gang Crimes
In communities, the rule is clear: only cigarettes from the group can enter. Anyone who disrespects it risks their life. The gang transformed illegality into a monopoly. A profitable and extremely violent business.
A survey carried out by RJ2 at the homicide police stations in the capital and Baixada Fluminense counted, from 2022 to date, at least 20 incidents including deaths and attempted murders, disappearances, and kidnappings linked to the cigarette mafia.
