In Cigars of the Pharaoh, Tintin finds himself entangled in a drug trafficking ring that will take him all the way to India. In the meantime, he meets Thomson and Thompson, two clumsy policemen whose role will progressively become more important throughout the series.

Tintin, fighting against the drug traffickers of Egypt and India, meets with a few characters he will encounter again soon, Villains such as Allan Thomson or the mysterious Rastapopoulos as well as some of his future companions like Seor Oliveira.