On 13-15 October 2015, Head of EUBAM, Andrew Tesoriere was one of the speakers at the OLAF 20th Task Group Cigarettes Conference in Bratislava, Slovakia. More than 90 experts representing the EU Member States, EUBAM, Europol, Interpol, the World Customs Organization and major cigarette production companies participated in this event. The aim of the Conference was to enhance international operational cooperation and to support the fight against cigarette smuggling and cigarette counterfeiting by information exchange.

The Conference provided a good opportunity for the participants to share information on the latest trends and also sought to formulate plans for improving the effectiveness of anti-smuggling actions in the coming year through improving joint cooperation as well as better use of intelligence and risk analysis to tackle smuggling.

Andrew Tesoriere explained how EUBAM supports its partner services in fighting against cigarette smuggling and invited those participating in the Conference to use the Mission as a platform for communication with Moldovan and Ukrainian services on this issue.