The measures to fight cigarette contraband are a priority for the National Customs Authority (ANV), which drew up the National Strategy for Fighting Illegal Cigarette Traffic, its representatives said. As such, the ANV has planned to improve, diversify and expand the means to fight cigarette smuggling, by running a program intended to set up canine teams specializing in detecting cigarettes and other tobacco products. As part of the program, between 2008 and 2010 ten anti-tobacco canine teams were trained, the quoted sources said. For the 2011-2012 period, there is a project by which a company in Romania will sponsor the National Customs Authority to allow it to set up a number of 30 anti-tobacco canine teams, as well as to purchase specialized vehicles and dog food. The ANV is also planning to strengthen its control component, using the mobile teams of the Romanian customs and improving the cooperation with structures belonging to the DIICOT (Department to Counter International Organized Crime and Terrorism) and the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MAI).
Processed tobacco and cigarettes can be illegally introduced in Romania using several methods, the quoted sources said, mentioning the following procedures:
• illegally introducing tobacco into the European space and then illegally selling the tobacco products by not declaring them or by declaring other goods than the ones shipped (transgression to the Customs Code),
• introducing greater quantities of processed tobacco than those allowed to individuals going into the European space (transgression to the Customs Code) in order to sell them without complying with the legislation in effect,
• the avoiding of customs duties of processed tobacco products by companies or by individuals entering the European space (transgression to the Customs Code), in order to sell them illegally
• the opening of illegal cigarette factories.
According to statistics by the National Customs Authority, the number of cigarette captures in the customs on the border with Ukraine is double compared to the number of captures made on the border to the Republic of Moldova, which represents 26% of the total.