Twenty-five shopping outlets were found selling contraband items during inspections by the Customs Department over the past four weeks.
In a statement on Thursday, the department said its inspectors had fanned out to grocers, supermarkets, hotels, bars, restaurants, cafeterias, barbers and pet shops all over Malta.
They found 25 cases where contraband or prohibited items were being sold.
The inspectors confiscated 16,026 contraband cigarettes, 530 bottles of alcoholic drinks, 47 wine bottles, 5kg of tobacco and 93 tins of snus (chewing tobacco).
The cases are being considered by the department's legal office.