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In the first half of this year, border police officers, independently or in collaboration with customs inspectors or representatives of other authorized institutions, seized 2,621,518 packs of cigarettes, worth 46,894,520 RON, with a view to confiscation, the General Inspectorate of Border Police said in a press release sent to AGERPRES.
Compared to the same period last year, there is an increase of approximately 1.7 times in the number of seized cigarette packs.
Also, during the reference period, approximately 5,564 kilograms of tobacco and 9,698 kilograms of hookah tobacco were discovered.
At the same time, the border police discovered and seized 1,750,000 excise stamps for cigarettes.
In order to bring to justice those who were involved in illegal acts, the border police registered 236 crimes for smuggling and customs fraud.
From the recorded cases, it was found that the traffickers mainly came from Bulgaria, India, Turkey, Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Hungary, Ukraine, Romania, etc.
During the analyzed period, significant shipments of cigarettes were detected at the border with Bulgaria. The cigarettes were generally discovered through the Giurgiu and Calafat border crossing points, being trafficked using the "lid" method or hidden in specially arranged spaces in the cargo compartments of vehicles, IGPF says.
According to the source, the main mode of operation identified at the borders with Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova remains the introduction of cigarettes across the "green border", in parcels, transported by carriers to the storage places or to the means of transport. Cars or minivans registered in other states, with fake license plates or even without license plates, are used for transport. The capabilities of off-road vehicles are also exploited, which can travel on detour routes, forest or undeveloped roads, thus trying to bypass the Border Police's patrol areas. Another mode of operation is represented by the use of drones, a mode of operation that allows cross-border transport over long distances and in a relatively short time.
At the level of border crossing points on these border segments (Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova), the trend of introducing cigarettes hidden in different spaces of the means of transport, in the component parts of the means of transport, on the body or in the personal luggage of passengers is maintained.
"Maintaining the black market at a level below the average in the European Union by combating cigarette smuggling and tax evasion, as well as by annihilating cigarette traffickers' networks, can only be achieved if we continue, also in the future, to collaborate with the competent authorities on internal, external plan, as well as with private profile companies," underlines IGPF.
