EUBAM facilitated the cross-border cooperation between Moldovan, Czech and Romanian case officers and prosecutors, and substantially supported a successful cross-border investigation that resulted in dismantling an international organized criminal group that dealt with the clandestine production of cigarettes in the Czech Republic and their distribution on the black market in several EU countries. The total damage to the tax has so far been estimated at EUR 5 million.

In the final phase of the investigation codenamed “ROOF”, 17,697,320 pieces of illegal cigarettes, 11,197 kilograms of tobacco, as well as the clandestine cigarette production lines/equipment was seized, and 22 foreign nationals detained, mostly Moldovans and Ukrainians. Significant amounts of cash, a gun, cars were also seized in the Czech Republic and Moldova.

Such collaborative efforts demonstrate the significance of international cooperation in combating criminal activities that negatively impact economies and communities.