Members of the Agency for Investigation and Protection (SIPA) of Bosnia and Herzegovina seized 12,530 boxes of cigarettes that were not marked with control and tax stamps in the “Regina” operation, stated the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In the course of the operation, searches were carried out at several locations, and 385 plastic bags filled with cut tobacco weighing about 0.5 kilograms, 30 kilograms of cut tobacco, five packs of cigarette filters, three cigarette fillers, and a total of 16 mobile phones with corresponding SIM cards and other evidence.
Acting on the order of the prosecutor of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH, police officers of SIPA, with the support of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of the Republic of Srpska and the MIAs of Sarajevo Canton, Herzegovina-Neretva Canton and West Herzegovina Canton, carried out an operation codenamed “Regina”, aimed at combating organized crime connected with unauthorized traffic, production and sale of excise products, cigarettes, tobacco and tobacco products in large quantities.
The conducted activities, as stated, included 11 persons whose illegalities were thoroughly documented during the investigation, and after all the investigative actions have been carried out, the investigation in this case is expected to be completed soon.
A months-long investigation gathered evidence about persons involved in these illegal activities that cause damage to the budget of BiH and cause damage to citizens due to the production and distribution of tobacco products that did not meet production and quality standards and that endanger the health of citizens.
The Prosecutor’s Office of BiH, together with partner police agencies, conducts a large number of activities in the fight against illegalities related to illegal trade and production of tobacco and tobacco products, especially in forms of organized crime in which a large number of persons who make illegal financial gains in large amounts participate, and who multi-million damage is caused to the BiH budget and all citizens.
