GABRIEL BERCA: There is a certain relaxation when it comes to the actions against tobacco smuggling

The actions to fight contraband seem to have entered a certain "relaxation" stage, Gabriel Berca, the minister of Administration and Internal Affairs said: "I have warned that I do not feel like things are over and I have announced that determination and relentlessness are still required. I have information that there is still a certain relaxation and I do believe that there is no room for it anymore, given the fact that in 2012 we are looking to fight tax evasion".

The minister's comments come as, at the end of last year, cigarette smuggling started rising again, after being on a downward trend during the year.

The minister of Internal Affairs has asked the border policemen to show determination and integrity: "I have asked them to continue to show determination and first of all integrity. We can't have performance if we don't have integrity among the border policemen".

The official of the Ministry of Internal Affairs announced that 2012 will be the year of fighting tax evasion: "The border policemen have cooperated very well with the other structures of the government and the results in the fight against corruption were obvious. 2012 must be the year for fighting tax evasion. It is a year when economic stability must persist. I will not shy away from taking quick action if cases of corruption appear".

According to information from the border police, illegal cigarette traffic has increased significantly over these past few years, on the borders of Romania, as the smugglers are betting on the impressive profits they can make by selling cigarettes on the Romanian black market, and even more so in the Western countries.

• 636,125 packs of cigarettes and 33.22 kilos of unprocessed tobacco captured by the authorities in 2012

By the end of January 2012, 12.72 million cigarettes/636,125 packs and 33.22 kilos of unprocessed tobacco were found, which were going to be sold illegally, the officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs told us.

According to them, the smugglers have divided their activities in two: contraband and counterfeiting, but there have been groups which have developed their own business, all the way into distribution. Thus, there have been cases where the cigarettes were taken over by collectors from the small couriers, stored in vehicles or taxis owned by various individuals, in the vicinity of the food markets, to be sold to retailers, (companies) to allow them to finally enter the official market. Solidarity between the Romanian smugglers and those in the neighboring countries (Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova) has also been noted, with some of them having a double citizenship (especially Romanian and Moldovan).

In terms of numbers, most offenses were committed on the ground border crossing points, followed by ports and airports. Also in terms of the distribution of smuggling acts, most of them were found at the customs offices of the border crossing points, and fewer at the internal customs offices. Presently, the largest quantities of smuggled cigarettes captured were found in vehicles and on the green border (especially on the border with Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova).