BY ORDER OF THE PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA, SEARCHES CARRIED OUT IN THE CONTINUATION OF THE OPERATION CODENAMED ‘LEAF III’ IN COMBATING ILLICIT TRADE IN EXCISABLE PRODUCTS IN THE TERRITORY OF ŠAMAC. AROUND 1800 KILOS OF TOBACCO SEIZED.

The value of the seized tobacco is extremely high and, according to the current legislation and regulations, nearly KM (BAM) 100 of excise duties and tax is evaded by sale of every kilo of tobacco on the black market thus causing damage to the State, to the budget and all citizens of BiH.

By order of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH, SIPA police officers, in cooperation with officials from the Indirect Taxation Authority of BiH and with the assistance of police officers from the Republika Srpska Ministry of Interior, carried out searches at three locations in the municipality of Šamac.

This is a continuation of an operation aimed at breaking a well-organised group that has been involved in illicit trade of tobacco for a longer period of time and the members of which have been involved in illicit trade, processing and distribution of tobacco and tobacco products by purchasing tobacco leaves, cutting them then and putting such tobacco into circulation contrary to the manner prescribed by the BiH tax legislation.

During the search, 320 kilos of cut tobacco, 320 kilos of strips (factory-processed tobacco), 980 kilos of tobacco in leaves, 180 kilos of tobacco roots, three tobacco cutters, three cell phones and SIM cards used by the suspects, as well as other items that can serve as evidence in further proceedings, were found and temporarily seized.

The operation codenamed ‘Leaf’ was launched in 2015 and, during 2016 and 2017, further activities were undertaken to detect and prosecute the suspected organised group which, by smuggling and distributing several tons of tobacco for further sale without paying any tax or excise duties and by selling it at a number of locations throughout BiH, damaged the budget of Bosnia and Herzegovina by millions of KM (BAM).

The persons under investigation within the aforementioned case are suspected of the criminal offence referred to in Article 250 - Organised Crime, in conjunction with the criminal offence referred to in Article 210a - Illicit Trade in Excisable Products of the Criminal Code of BiH.

The Prosecutor’s Office of BiH, together with its partner agencies, continues to fight against all types of criminal offences that are inflicting damage to the budget and to all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in accordance with the improvement of tax and fiscal discipline.