When asked about cigarettes from Brussels, the Government replied that it intends to destroy them

Representatives of the European Commission (EC) inquired with the Government of Montenegro about the fate of a thousand and a half tons of cigarettes seized by the state in the Port of Bar.
According to RTCG Portal, the Government has informed the European Commission that it intends to destroy the confiscated cigarettes after the completion of the legal procedures.
The Government of Montenegro indicated last month that they are waiting for the decisions of the Administrative Court on the lawsuits of the owners, and if the legal prerequisites are created after the court decisions, they will initiate the procedure for the destruction of over a thousand and a half tons of cigarettes that were seized in the Port of Bar. This information was communicated to the RTCG Portal in the Government. The government stated at the time that it expects that, bearing in mind the seriousness of this case and the damage that is occurring, the courts will decide quickly.
The owners sued the state at the Administrative Court, claiming that the state illegally confiscated cigarettes in the free zone of the Port of Bar.
Let us remind you that during 2021 and 2022, first the Government of Zdravko Krivokapić, and then Dritan Abazović, initiated activities to suppress the smuggling of cigarettes through the Port of Bar.
The first move was the adoption of a decision to prohibit the storage of tobacco products within the Free Zone of the Port of Bar in July 2021. The decision was made by the Krivokapić Government.
This was followed by the control of the operations of legal entities whose activities are related to tobacco products.
The concrete seizure of cigarettes took place after the British ambassador to Montenegro, Karen Maddox, announced in March of last year that "more than two billion cigarettes are smuggled through the Port of Bar alone every year and reach the markets of Europe".
The largest seizure of cigarettes was carried out in May of the same year, when the seized goods were worth, as it was said at the time, tens of millions of euros.
Cigarettes are still stored in Bar under the supervision of the police, and Prime Minister Abazović said in July that this storage has so far cost the state over 15 million euros.
M.J.