By The Associated Press
BUCHAREST, Romania – Police have detained two men who illegally crossed the border from Serbia into Romania with some 2,000 packets of contraband cigarettes, as authorities crack down on cigarette smuggling from non- European Union countries.
Border police said Thursday officers fired into the air during the capture of the two Romanian men who are being investigated for cigarette smuggling, illegally crossing the border and tax evasion.
Separately, police said authorities discovered 30,000 packets of Ukrainian contraband cigarettes with a market value of €65,000 on Tuesday in two houses in the northwest city of Siget. Unlike Romania, Serbia and Ukraine are not EU members.
In July, Romanian authorities discovered 600,000 packets of cigarettes in a parked truck near Romania’s border with Serbia. They originated in Montenegro and were en route to Moldova.
