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Press release31 August 2017European Anti-Fraud Office

Romanian Border Police seized 15,000 packets of cigarettes hidden in car bodies, doors and dashboard

Partner's press release

 

31/08/2017

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Border policemen from the Border Police Territorial Inspectorate of Sighetu Marmației, (municipality, Maramureș County, Romania), discovered and seized more than 14,900 packets of cigarettes of Ukrainian origin, with an estimated value of 166,100 lei (€ 36,000), hidden in car bodies, doors or dashboards. The capture was confiscated as part of a series of border police operations to combat cigarette smuggling.

On 13 July 2017, the Border Police Territorial Inspectorate of Sighetu Marmației initiated an operation against cigarette smuggling, part of the ‘Counterfeit 2017’ Action Plan.

Around 19:30 PM EET a border police team stopped a Mercedes Sprinter minibus for control in the surrounding area of Dorolt, Satu Mare county. The minibus had Romanian plates, and was driven by a Ukrainian citizen, Dmytro B., age 49.

During the initial check of the car, border policemen discovered a hidden compartment in the body of the car, in between the luggage compartment and the passenger compartment, in which they found a large quantity of cigarettes. As a result, the driver and the minibus were taken to the premises of the border police for further investigations. 

Following the more detailed control, in the above mentioned hidden compartment, the police found 14,060 packets of cigarettes of various brands, all of Ukrainian origin, with an estimated value of 165,000 lei (€ 35,880).

Investigations are currently carried out in the case, and the entire quantity of cigarettes was seized. In addition, the minibus was also impounded for the duration of the investigations.

The Ukrainian citizen was detained for 24 hours; a hearing for a 30-day arrest warrant is scheduled in front of a judge.

The border policemen and the customs officers from the Border Police Siret, Suceava County, discovered and seized, in the space of 24 hours, a considerable quantity of cigarettes, of various brands, of Ukrainian origin, which were being smuggled into Romania.

The joint control team found 850 packets of cigarettes of Ukrainian origin hidden in the clothes of a person, in their luggage, in the car doors and in a secret compartment in the dashboard of a car.

Three Romanian citizens, 2 men and a woman, with ages between 34 and 44 years old, were each fined 5,000 lei (€ 1,100), and the entire quantity of cigarettes, with an estimated value of 1,100 lei (€ 240) was seized.

Additionally, a car, Opel Vivaro model, valued at 16,000 lei (€ 3,500), was seized because it had a secret compartment built for smuggling of cigarettes.

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Details

Publication date
31 August 2017
Author
European Anti-Fraud Office
News type
Partner's press release