Quang Ninh police said on October 5 that local authorities had destroyed the cigarettes, which included several well-known foreign brands.
The cigarettes were evidence in a case investigated by the city's Economic Police Division.
On January 21, police caught Tran Van Viet, 28, driving a Ford vehicle carrying 15,000 packs of smuggled cigarettes in Hai Thanh Village, Quang Duc Commune.
Viet told investigators he had been hired to transport the cigarettes for Nguyen Van Nam, 29, from Quang Thanh Commune.
A subsequent search of a waiting area at Quang Duc Commune cemetery uncovered another 50 cartons containing nearly 25,000 packs of smuggled cigarettes.
Police said Nam had asked Nguyen Van Hung, 54, from Hai Thanh Village, to look after the shipment.
Nearly 40,000 packs were seized in total. All were foreign-made and lacked documents proving their legal origin.
Authorities investigated and dealt with those involved before destroying all the seized cigarettes.
