From: UDF.by
The art of smuggling in Belarus
VADZIM SMOK, opendemocracy.net
Black market smokes
Olga’s story hints at the enormous scale of cigarette smuggling from Belarus into the EU. Famous for Lukashenka’s dictatorship, Chernobyl fallout, and ice hockey, Belarus is evidently also well known now among European smokers – it is one of the largest suppliers of illegal cigarettes to EU countries. The loss of EU tax revenue from the illegal trade in tobacco products comes to some $10 billion per year; and the Belarusian contribution to this loss is a considerable one.
In Belarusian law, cigarette smuggling may only be a minor offence, but it can be just as profitable as smuggling drugs or arms – much more serious crimes. So the business has grown enormously over the last few years.
