Customs officials from the Vukovar Regional Unit, specialized in mobile units, successfully thwarted one of the more significant attempts to smuggle cigarettes at the Tovarnik border crossing at the end of August 2024. During a routine inspection, a truck with Serbian license plates was singled out, transporting legally declared goods – farm equipment from Serbia to France. However, customs officials’ suspicions led to a detailed search, which uncovered a hidden load of cigarettes.

The vehicle, driven by a citizen of the Republic of Serbia, appeared to be in compliance with all regulations at first glance, but a thorough inspection of the cargo area revealed two pallets wrapped in PVC foil. The pallets contained 88 cardboard boxes, holding a total of 515,160 pieces of various types of cigarettes, which were not declared in the goods declaration.

Cigarette smuggling is not an uncommon occurrence at European Union borders, and such incidents often point to larger organized criminal networks employing sophisticated methods for transporting illegal products. The European Union, facing growing challenges at its borders, has intensified its efforts to combat cigarette smuggling, which is linked to financing organized crime and even terrorist activities. According to the European Commission, over 600 million illegal cigarettes were seized at the EU’s external borders during 2023, highlighting the scale of this problem.

Attempts to smuggle cigarettes are particularly intense at the EU’s eastern borders, where illegal products are often transported across borders from Ukraine and other neighboring countries. The war in Ukraine has further exacerbated the situation, opening new routes for traffickers exploiting destabilized regions for illegal activities. Additionally, data show that smugglers have invested significant resources in developing new methods of concealing and transporting cigarettes, including the use of sophisticated technology such as drones and hidden compartments within legitimate cargo.

This specific case at the Tovarnik border crossing concluded with the filing of a criminal complaint against the driver to the competent Municipal State Attorney’s Office in Vukovar, and the seized cigarettes, along with the vehicle and the remainder of the legally transported goods, were confiscated. Incidents of this nature further highlight the need for ongoing coordination between customs services, border police, and other relevant authorities to effectively combat smuggling and safeguard the European Union’s borders.