Congolese diplomat linked to smugglers
Source: Agencies |
June 14, 2011, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
ROMANIAN prosecutors said they found 1,800 cartons of smuggled cigarettes yesterday in the car of an African diplomat's wife, who claimed diplomatic immunity and refused to leave the vehicle until police smashed its windows.
The woman and her husband, second counselor at the Congolese embassy in Belgrade, are suspected of working with a Serbian crime ring that smuggled tax-free cigarettes from Montenegro to Romania.
After a two-hour standoff, officers smashed the car windows yesterday and discovered the cigarettes stashed in the car, which had been specially altered to transport the contraband. Some cartons were stacked where the back seat had been and covered with a black cloth to avoid detection. There was no estimate of the value of the cigarettes.
The woman, identified as Esther Pascaline, and her Serbian driver were detained. Two Serb citizens, who were in another car, were also detained. Eleven Romanians who are suspected of being part of the smuggling ring are currently being questioned, said Mircea Andres, a regional prosecutor responsible for combatting organized crime and terrorism.
The Congolese woman and her husband, Marc Marius Itela Elombola, were working for the "well-organized" Serb-led smuggling ring, Andres said. Smugglers distributed cigarettes in western Romania. Romania is a European Union member, while Serbia is not.
Romanian intelligence officers and anti-crime police have been tracking the car's movements for months. They say it entered Romania twice a week from Serbia, sometimes accompanied by Elombola from the Congolese embassy in Belgrade.
Montenegro was the chief European cigarette smuggling hub in the 1990s and still is, but on a lesser scale, officials said.
The woman and her husband, second counselor at the Congolese embassy in Belgrade, are suspected of working with a Serbian crime ring that smuggled tax-free cigarettes from Montenegro to Romania.
After a two-hour standoff, officers smashed the car windows yesterday and discovered the cigarettes stashed in the car, which had been specially altered to transport the contraband. Some cartons were stacked where the back seat had been and covered with a black cloth to avoid detection. There was no estimate of the value of the cigarettes.
The woman, identified as Esther Pascaline, and her Serbian driver were detained. Two Serb citizens, who were in another car, were also detained. Eleven Romanians who are suspected of being part of the smuggling ring are currently being questioned, said Mircea Andres, a regional prosecutor responsible for combatting organized crime and terrorism.
The Congolese woman and her husband, Marc Marius Itela Elombola, were working for the "well-organized" Serb-led smuggling ring, Andres said. Smugglers distributed cigarettes in western Romania. Romania is a European Union member, while Serbia is not.
Romanian intelligence officers and anti-crime police have been tracking the car's movements for months. They say it entered Romania twice a week from Serbia, sometimes accompanied by Elombola from the Congolese embassy in Belgrade.
Montenegro was the chief European cigarette smuggling hub in the 1990s and still is, but on a lesser scale, officials said.
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