On 25 June, EUBAM cross-border crime expert Flavius Onofrei participated as main speaker and co-host in a webinar discussing lessons from the KPMG 2023 report on illicit cigarette consumption in Europe. He highlighted trends in the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, noting a surge in illicit cigarette demand and consumption on the domestic markets of these two countries in the last two years. Disrupting important regular supply chains of illicit whites in the region and closing Ukrainian ports because of Russia’s large-scale aggression against Ukraine led both to a certain reorientation of illicit traffic routes and, in particular, to an increase in clandestine factories in Europe.

To address border security and bolster resilience, EUBAM has intensified operational assistance and capacity building for border and customs authorities in both countries. Also, due attention was given to increasing the security of the EU’s external borders and strengthening cross-border operational cooperation. Last year, EUBAM facilitated cross-border cooperation, supporting several successful investigations. A major achievement was dismantling an organized criminal group producing illicit cigarettes in the Czech Republic, resulting in a EUR 5 million tax revenue loss, seizure of over 17 million illegal cigarettes, and the arrest of 22 individuals, mainly Moldovan and Ukrainian nationals.