BiH Border Police haven’t had much success in uncovering drugs. They blame this on their lack of equipment and a lack of cooperation among other law enforcement agencies.
Judges say most are small time dealers and don”t deserve long sentences, but prison officials say they keep on seeing the same people coming back for the same drug charges.
BiH made a start toward responsible spending by government agencies with passage of a law in 2004. But years later, the awarding of tenders is still far from a logical and fair competition that gets taxpayers the best price.
Story 1: Drugs are Big BiH Business The thousands of dealers in BiH who make a living selling drugs and the hundreds of thousands
The thousands of dealers in BiH who make a living selling drugs and the hundreds of thousands of addicts who buy them make up one of Bosnia’s biggest businesses.
Smoking by health care professionals is one of the reasons why people in BiH have such high smoking rates and are quitting far less than the rest of Europe.
Montenegrin duty free shops were Bosnia’s biggest smuggling problem. Since they’ve, closed, smuggling has persisted, albeit at a lesser rate. But a Montenegrin government strategy to open free trade zones could become the next boon for smuggling.
Cigarette smuggling can be done by anyone with Internet access and a credit card. Countries like China and Dubai have become trading hubs where companies will ship cigarettes to you directly bypassing taxes and customs.
Traditional tobacco cultivation in Herzegovina is on the path towards extinction. Local farmers blame their problems on tobacco smuggling and corruption, but changing tastes are playing a large role as well.
Bosnia is not alone in its struggle with tobacco smuggling. Nearly the whole world engages in smuggling in some form.
Despite the efforts of the EU, law enforcement and others, BiH continues to be a trans-shipment point for illegal tobacco. The state budget loses hundreds of millions of KM every year because of cigarette smuggling.
A European Union program did little to bolster small and medium sized business in BiH or to create new jobs. A poorly administered and unmonitored grant program gave equipment to failing or fake companies.
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