Packets of cigarettes are conveyed from a packer to a cellophaner by a unit utilizing a first pocket conveyor connected to the infeed of the cellophaner, and a second pocket conveyor by which packets are directed onto the first conveyor at a transfer point; the unit is also equipped with a sensor that will check whether or not each pocket of the second conveyor is occupied by a packet, and a placement mechanism, interlocked to the sensor, of which the function is to fill any empty pockets of the first conveyor with packets recycled from the cellophaner.