NCJ Number
210371
Journal
Global Crime Volume: 6 Issue: 2 Dated: May 2004 Pages: 185-200
Date Published
May 2004
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This article provides an overview of cigarette smuggling in Europe over the past decade, with attention to the actors, structures, and relationships that have facilitated this illicit trade.
Abstract
Cigarette smuggling in Europe is a multibillion Euro crime trade that affects most countries of the European Union (EU), primarily through massive losses in tax revenue. During the 1990s, one of the primary EU gateways for contraband cigarettes was Italy, as traditional organized crime groups were heavily involved in illegal importation. Large-scale smuggling and the required logistics network were made possible by the involvement of states and multinational tobacco companies. Also, in the 1990s the forces of globalization in the Balkans facilitated the merging of politicians, paramilitaries, and the Serbian state security to form an organized criminal network with cigarette smuggling as one of its criminal enterprises. The massive increase in cigarette smuggling in the 1990s was made possible by the acquiescence and, at times, active participation of the multinational tobacco companies, as they engaged in the sale of huge quantities of cigarettes to shell companies linked to organized crime syndicates. The failure of these companies to cooperate with national law enforcement agencies facilitated cigarette smuggling on an unprecedented scale. This lucrative cooperative network, however, has been significantly weakened by the combative stance of the EU against the tobacco multinationals. Balkan law enforcement and customs infrastructure projects can also take credit for weakening smuggling networks, along with Italian law enforcement efforts. Still, cigarette smuggling continues, albeit in a new form. The new form involves counterfeit cigarettes, which has influenced tobacco multinationals into closer cooperation with European law enforcement agencies. Evidence suggests that cigarette smuggling will continue as a significant illicit business, however. 20 notes