Smuggling prevented: Sneakers, auto parts, clothes, books, bee food hidden in buses...

Officers of the Indirect Taxation Authority and the Border Police of BiH, in a joint operation to combat smuggling, discovered and temporarily seized various goods worth 24,000 KM hidden in specially concealed compartments in buses, reports the Patria news agency.    

Inspections were carried out on buses entering Bosnia and Herzegovina from the neighboring Republic of Serbia, using special specialist equipment donated by the EXBS program. 

At the Rača border crossing, using special CT 30 devices for detecting hidden compartments in a bus owned by the company d.o.o. „NEOBAS“ Banja Luka, undeclared goods of foreign origin (sneakers, spare auto parts, sports supplements) were found in an improvised space under the stairs of the rear door and temporarily seized from the bus driver, with a market value of 7,000 KM.

On the Rača - Bijeljina road, in the town of Balatun, a detailed inspection was carried out on a bus owned by the same carrier, traveling from the direction of the Rača border crossing. On that occasion, goods of foreign origin (clothes, albums, bee food) were found in the luggage compartment and in the space behind the tank, and temporarily seized from the bus driver, with a market value of 8,000 KM, as they were not declared for customs procedure upon entering the BiH customs territory at the Rača border crossing.

On the Pavlovića most - Bijeljina road, in the town of Dijelovi, a detailed inspection was carried out on a bus owned by the company d.o.o. „SEMBERIJATRANSPORT“ Bijeljina. On that occasion, English language dictionaries were found in the bus toilet and temporarily seized from the driver, with a market value of 9,000 KM, which were not declared for customs procedure upon entering the BiH customs territory at the Pavlovića most border crossing.

Against the perpetrators of the described illegal acts, in accordance with the provisions of the BiH Law on Customs Violations, requests for initiating misdemeanor proceedings will be submitted to the competent court.

The joint actions of authorized officers of the UIO from the Tuzla regional center and officers of the BiH Border Police, Northeast Bijeljina Field Office, were carried out in accordance with the Action Plan for the implementation of the Agreement on Mutual Cooperation between the UIO and the BiH Border Police. The successful implementation of the actions was particularly aided by specialist equipment donated to the UIO by the US Government through the EXBS program, the UIO BiH announced.