Truck hauling 636.000 packs of contraband cigarettes was spotted Thursday at Hani Hotit Border Crossing Point (BCP) and seized along with the goods, customs authorities informed.

The vehicle used to transport the merchandise had Bulgarian number plates and had entered the Albanian territory from Montenegro. If the cigarettes were to be sold in the market, the traffickers would reap an ALL 99.7 million profit as the border specialists estimated.

Nevertheless, the materials were submitted to Shkodra Prosecution and the perpetrators will face the criminal charge “"Smuggling of goods that pay excise or with full or partial suspension from customs or excise duties".

“The structures of Customs Administration, after a risk analysis and reasonable suspicions on the data of accompanying documentation of a cigarette packs consignment arrived at the Customs Branch of Hani Hoti, Shkodra exercised control over the trailer type vehicle. The trailer together with the amount of goods of 636.000 packs of cigarettes were seized.

Customs Investigation Specialists in cooperation with the Prosecution at the Court of First Instance, Shkodra, are conducting further investigative actions”, notified the Directorate of Borders.