UNMIK/PR/770
On Thursday 4 July UNMIK Customs Officers seized over 20 million cigarettes in raids on premises in the Lesak (Leposavic) area of Kosovo.
The seizure was as a result of close co-operation between Customs, KFOR and Police. Initial enquiries suggest that the cigarettes, all Marlboro brand, originated in Greece or Cyprus and were brought into Kosovo through Serbia.
It is too early to say where the cigarettes were destined for, but their location in the north of Kosovo suggests that they may have been intended for distribution in Serbia. This is supported by indications that the principal suspects appear to be based in the Novi Pazar and Belgrade areas and are part of an organised criminal group.
The seizure is highly significant in the light of UNMIK Customs' anti-cigarette smuggling strategy, developed with the support of SRSG Michael Steiner's Pristina Declaration on regional cigarette smuggling. By far the biggest single seizure of contraband cigarettes in Kosovo in recent times, the seizure represents a perfect example of the increasing effectiveness of the UNMIK Customs Service, the co-ordinated activity of the forces of law and order and zero-tolerance of criminal activity. Enquiries are also currently being conducted by the Customs Administrations in Belgrade and elsewhere, and arrests are expected.
The UNMIK Customs Service is committed to disrupting organised criminal attacks on the revenue, using modern intelligence gathering techniques and a greater visible presence in Kosovo. Further similar operations to the one in Lesak can be expected in the future.
The loss to the Kosovo Consolidated Budget from this single act of smuggling is estimated at over EUR 200,000.
