A factory for the illegal production of cigarettes intended for the European market was discovered in Široki Brijeg, it was confirmed on February 6 for Radio Free Europe from the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA).
SIPA did not want to talk about the details, that is, when the illegal factory was discovered in the southwest of Bosnia and Herzegovina and whether there were any arrests, confirming that the factory was found during a months-long investigation in several cities, as part of an action against migrant smuggling.
"During the work on that case, they also came to the discovery of an illegal factory. We cannot reveal more details," Jelena Miovčić, SIPA spokeswoman, told RFE/RL.
Tobacco products are the most sold goods on the black market in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and as many as 49 percent of citizens in this country buy cigarettes and tobacco that way.
This is shown by research data published in 2020 by the Center for Policies and Management, an organization that deals with European integration and public administration reform.
According to the same research, the legal sale of cigarettes decreased by 2008 billion cigarettes per year from 2020 to 7,6.
In the past years, BiH has been left without a tobacco industry. The Mostar Tobacco Factory was closed in 2007, followed by the Banjaluka Tobacco Factory in 2018.
After more than 140 years of operation, "Fabrika duhana Sarajevo" was closed in the first half of 2022.
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