140 Kilograms of Cut Tobacco Seized Near Paracin

Police in Jagodina, working with the Customs Administration, will file a criminal complaint against I.S. (1988) from Bogatic on suspicion of illegal trafficking of excise goods. The suspect was stopped on the highway near Paracin, and in the car he was driving, officers found and seized 140 kilograms and 850 grams of cut tobacco. The Jagodina Police Department released a statement on the case on August 12.

The vehicle was a Volkswagen Passat. The trunk held 28 packages of cut tobacco, and the goods had no accompanying documentation.

How much tobacco was found, and what is it worth?

The seized amount was measured down to the gram. In its statement, the Interior Ministry wrote that “140 kilograms and 850 grams of cut tobacco” had been seized. The value of the goods was estimated at around 420,000 dinars.

The tobacco was packed in the trunk in 28 individual packages. Alongside police, officers from the Customs Administration’s Smuggling Suppression Department carried out the check as part of an in-depth inspection in the area around Paracin.

Illegal trafficking of excise goods is a criminal offense involving products subject to excise tax, and tobacco falls into that category. The key element in this case is the absence of documentation that would show the goods’ origin and legal status.

Why was the vehicle temporarily seized too?

Along with the tobacco, the car was also temporarily seized. The Customs Administration said the reason was a value ratio: the goods found are worth more than a third of the vehicle’s value. The car remains seized until proceedings before the competent court are concluded.

That is the standard applied to means of transport in such cases, regardless of how the criminal proceedings against the driver turn out. The seized tobacco was held temporarily without accompanying documentation.

The case was announced by two institutions, each from its own angle. The Jagodina Police Department named the criminal offense, gave the suspect’s initials and year of birth, and estimated the value of the tobacco. The Customs Administration said its officers had carried out an in-depth inspection in the area around Paracin and found 28 packages full of cut tobacco in the trunk of a passenger vehicle, with no accompanying documentation.

The complaint follows an order from the Paracin prosecutor’s office

A criminal complaint against the suspect will be filed through the regular procedure, on order of the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office in Paracin. That means the suspect was not detained; instead, the complaint is being forwarded to the prosecutor’s office, which will decide on the case from there.

I.S. is charged with illegal trafficking of excise goods and allegedly transported the tobacco without documentation. Until a final court ruling, the presumption of innocence applies to him, and guilt is established neither in the police statement nor in this article.

The seizure was the result of a joint police and customs check on the highway, not a search of a home or premises. The Customs Administration said the tobacco was held without accompanying documentation, while the Interior Ministry is treating the case as a criminal offense against the driver of the stopped vehicle.