Originally Posted by
pinniped
I've heard this before, but just to play devil's advocate...if I were a Customs agent and I saw a bunch of labelless cigars, I'm immediately going to know what they are and why someone removed the labels. I mean, it's not like I immediately sit down and peel off the labels after I buy a box of Dominicans.
And since Customs agents can pretty well do what they please when it comes to confiscating questionable products, it seems like they'd still toss your labelless stogies in the trash and tell you to pound sand. Want to file a protest? OK, let's go over to this windowless back room and have a more detailed chat about these cigars. I could see Customs taking the stance that since you peeled off the labels, you knew they were contraband - in other words, they might toss the cigars and assess a fine.
I've brought back Cubans before - I used to fly back and forth between LHR and ORD quite a bit right after college - I just tossed a few in my luggage and figured if I got busted I'd just shrug and give up the cigars. That never happened.
Just take the bands and packaging off and mail them to yourself at home regular mail.
And for the customs guys? These are handmade cigars. I bought them from the guy that rolled them in XX country. It was a little craft fair where people made homemade food, pottery, cigars, etc.
If you're comfortable with that. If not don't smuggle. It's not hard though, just say they aren't branded because they're homemade, if that's the situation you find yourself in.
It's not worth worrying about though, it would never get that far. Tens of thousands of cubans come in off duty free shops and similar every day and nobody really cares about personal use.