Four thousand packs of cigarettes of various brands, worth around 3,5 million euros, were confiscated in yesterday's operation "Transit", which was carried out by customs officers in the Port of Bar in cooperation with the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP) and the Police Directorate (UP), TV News has learned.
TV Vijesti's sources reveal that the seized cigarettes are the property of the company "Lenira International", from the American state of Delaware, and that no one has been prosecuted so far.
Cigarettes were confiscated in accordance with customs law, TV Vijesti's interlocutors explained.
The action was led by the director of the Revenue and Customs Administration (UPC), Rade Milošević, who has been seized this third time since his appointment, and as Televizija Vijesti reliably learns, new ones can be expected in the coming days.
As TV Vijesti has learned, for the purpose of detailed checks, Milošević is planning to lock all containers in the Bar Port Free Zone, so that they will not be able to leave the zone without the approval of the UPC.
TV Vijesti's interlocutors, due to the ongoing investigation, could not provide more details about the action, but they point out that evidence is being collected about the business of the company that owned the disputed cigarettes, as well as Montenegrin companies that deal with shipping.
It was officially announced by the UPC that this institution, in cooperation with the MUP of Montenegro and the Police Directorate, implemented a new action aimed at dealing with cigarette smuggling.
"Eight containers, approximately 4.000 packs of cigarettes, with a value of around 3,5 million euros, were confiscated in the Port of Bar. The owner of the cigarettes is the company "Lenora International", affiliated with the company "Playmaker". In the past month, since the arrival of the new management , the fight against cigarette smuggling has intensified, as evidenced by the fact that this is already the third major confiscation operation. In the mentioned period, competent services in Montenegro seized more cigarettes than any other country in Europe," the UPC statement reads.
"Through coordinated actions and cooperation, we are improving the image of the country and we will not stop at our intention to resolutely suppress the smuggling of cigarettes through our country, because the Port of Bar should become the backbone of Montenegro's development, not a smuggling point," stated the UPC statement.
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