Hidden Truck Compartment Holds 400kg of Cut Tobacco Near Raska
On the Raska-Novi Pazar highway, police found around 400 kilograms of cut tobacco with no documentation inside a specially built compartment in a truck. A 66-year-old man was arrested.
- A 66-year-old man was arrested on the Raska-Novi Pazar highway.
- Around 400 kilograms of cut tobacco with no documentation were found in a specially built truck compartment.
- The estimated loss to Serbia's budget is about 4,400,000 dinars.
- The suspect was detained for up to 48 hours and faces criminal charges.
Police stopped a cargo truck on the Raska-Novi Pazar highway and arrested its driver, a 66-year-old man. At first glance, nothing in the cab or the load looked out of place. The real find was hidden elsewhere.
During a detailed inspection of the “Mercedes Atego” truck, officers uncovered a specially built compartment added to the vehicle. Inside that concealed section were roughly 400 kilograms of cut tobacco, without a single document to accompany the goods. The tobacco was seized and the vehicle impounded.
The operation was carried out by the Service for Combating Crime, its Economic Crime Department, together with the Novi Pazar Police Directorate. They acted on the order of the Novi Pazar Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office. The suspect is charged with the illegal trade of excise goods.
Why is hidden tobacco a problem for the state treasury?
Cut tobacco moved without documentation avoids excise duty, the tax the state levies on tobacco products. When such goods reach the market, they sell below the official price because they carry no duty. The budget pays the difference.
In this case, the estimated loss to Serbia’s budget is around 4,400,000 dinars. The figure feels abstract until it is translated into what excise revenue normally funds. It is money that never reaches where the law intends it to go.
The compartment in the vehicle was no improvisation. Building such a section takes time, tools, and knowledge of where customs and police checks rarely look. That is exactly why investigators treat these constructions as a sign of organized, rather than casual, transport.
Under the law, the suspect is presumed innocent until guilt is established by a final court ruling. At this stage, this is an arrest and a criminal complaint, not a verdict.
What comes next in the case?
The suspect was ordered detained for up to 48 hours. Within that window he will be brought before the competent prosecutor, along with the criminal complaint. The prosecution then decides on the next steps and any request for custody.
The Raska-Novi Pazar highway has for years been one of the routes police monitor closely. Its proximity to the administrative line and heavy freight traffic make it convenient for attempts to smuggle excise goods. This seizure fits into a series of earlier checks on the same stretch.
For now it is not known who the tobacco was intended for or where the shipment began. Those are questions for the prosecutor’s investigation to answer. It also remains to be seen whether the driver acted alone or is one link in a wider chain.
How much cut tobacco passes along Serbia’s roads every day and never reaches a checkpoint?
