Moldovan police discover Transnistrian tobacco smuggling scheme

Moldovan police have discovered a shipment of smuggled cigarettes worth 757,000 lei in a Floresti village called Bursuc, Info-Prim Neo reports. According to the police, a van transporting 40,000 packs of cigarettes without proper marking, concealed under 400 brooms, was seized on April 7. This is how the scheme supposedly worked: the cigarettes were smuggled into Moldova from the Transnistrian region – they were first ferried across the Nistru to Bursuc and then transported by van to Chisinau, where they continued their journey to Europe. The investigated van driver turned the chief smuggler in and revealed where the rest of the cigarettes were stored. After traveling there, the police seized another 79,000 packs. Under Moldova’s criminal laws, one may face a fine ranging from 10,000 to 20,000 lei or imprisonment of up 5 years if found guilty of smuggling. This is the second case of tobacco smuggling this year involving Transnistrian cigarettes.