The management of the "Monus" cigarette factory from Inđija claims that they have nothing to do with the smuggling of their products in Montenegro, that they do not know how they appeared on the illegal market, but that they are ready to cooperate with all competent state institutions in order to discover and prevent it.
Ten days ago, "Vijesti" published an article stating that a large quantity of cigarettes of the "Monus" and "De Santos" brands from the "Monus" tobacco factory had appeared on the Montenegrin illegal tobacco market, without Montenegrin or any other excise stamps, with markings printed on the box indicating that they were intended for sale in duty-free shops or that the importer for Kosovo was "Umpro group LLC" from Pristina. "Vijesti" had previously sent questions to "Monus" and the Customs Administration, but had not received any answers at the time.
Cigarettes can be legally sold in the domestic market only if they have protected excise stamps from the Ministry of Finance of Montenegro, and in duty free shops only with special permits and markings on the boxes.
"Thank you for the email and your commitment to establishing the truth. The news caught us by surprise, especially since the company 'Monus', as a manufacturer, has nothing to do with the 'black' market. We believe that such activities pose a serious risk to consumers and harm the entire market. We currently do not have confirmed information about the origin of the products mentioned in the media and cannot speculate. We are open to all cooperation with the competent authorities in order to determine the origin of the disputed products. We also strictly condemn illegal trade, and we fight against counterfeiting, and we will continue to take all available measures to protect consumers and preserve the legal market," the responses from the company "Monus" stated.
A source for "Vijesti" from a group of legal importers and traders of tobacco products said ten days ago that "Monus" cigarettes had previously been present on the Montenegrin black market, but that their volume had been increasing recently and that the authorities should urgently react so that the black market would not expand and reduce legal sales. "Vijesti" reporters found "Monus" cigarettes in several places on the street at prices ranging from 2,1 to 2,2 euros, while in legal sales the cheapest pack costs 2,8 euros.
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The Customs Administration told "Vijesti" that "Monus" cigarettes have not been legally sold in Montenegro since 2020, and that they are working in cooperation with other domestic institutions, security services of other countries and international organizations to combat the smuggling of tobacco products at both the domestic and international levels.
"The brands 'monus red', 'monus blue', 'monus slims gray', 'monus slims blue', 'monus apple slims', 'monus slims red', 'monus gray' have been entered in the Register of Tobacco Product Brands maintained by the Tobacco Directorate since 2009. The original importer of the aforementioned brands of tobacco products was 'Patron' DF from Podgorica, which ceased operations in 2014. After that, the import of these cigarettes was carried out through 'Rokšped' from Podgorica, which changed its name to 'Plus' from Podgorica in 2015. The company 'Plus' continues to operate as an active importer, but has not imported the aforementioned brands since 2020. Currently, the aforementioned brands are no longer present on the legal market of Montenegro," the Customs Administration told "Vijesti".
They note that cigarettes marked "duty free" are intended for sale in these stores and must have a special excise stamp for that type of sale, meaning that they are not intended for sale on the domestic market of Montenegro.
"The Customs Administration carries out intensive controls to combat cigarette smuggling, independently and in coordinated actions with other state authorities, primarily with the Police Administration and inspection services, in which it has achieved significant results. Controls are carried out at the border in goods and passenger traffic, as well as within the customs area, which also includes supervision of the operations of economic entities through inspection controls," the Customs Administration stated.
150 boxes seized in 11 months
This institution also announced that from January 1 to December 1 this year, they confiscated 29.620 cigarettes worth 4.423 euros. That's 1.500 packs or 150 boxes of cigarettes.
In the comparable period in 2024, they confiscated 99.560 cigarettes worth 14.272,60 euros, which is about 500 boxes.
In the first 11 months of this year, 2.910 cigarillos and tompus worth 95.771 euros and 19,85 kilograms of hookah flavoring worth 1.159,60 euros were seized on the black market.
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