CUSTOMS OFFICES PREVENTED THE SMUGGLING OF CHICKEN FROM KOSOVO AND METOHIJA

22. September 2014.

Customs officers at the checkpoint near the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija managed to prevent the smuggling of 180 kilograms of frozen chicken thighs, which were of American origin. The Customs Administration stated that the customs officers, thanks to an in-depth control on the Lucane – Bujanovac road, and in collaboration with members of the Gendarmerie, decided to stop the “Golf 2” car with Bujanovac license plates, which was being driven by a Serbian citizen of the Albanian nationality. When asked what he had to declare for an extraordinary customs control, the driver said that he had a small quantity of chicken thighs for his personal use.

This was followed by a detailed check of the vehicle, which revealed that there were 12 15-kilogram boxes of frozen chicken thighs in the car. The boxes with the drumsticks were arranged all around the car, in the trunk, on the back seat and were covered with a blanket, as well as in the area in front of the passenger seat. It was clearly written on the boxes that the chicken was of American origin and with a valid expiration date.

After the drumsticks had been discovered, the driver said that the meat was brought to the village of Dobrosi by an unknown person, who had the goods previously transported by truck to the said village. The driver didn’t have any supporting documentation for the controversial chicken. The meat was immediately handed over to the veterinary inspection, while infringement proceedings were instigated against the 63 -year-old passenger.

The Customs Administration reminds us that at the end of this February, at the Gradina border crossing, a Serbian citizen was prevented from attempting to smuggle out of Bulgaria 48 kilograms of meat hidden in the tank for storing gasoline , while the vehicle was operated on gas.

No one in South Serbia is surprised any more by the news that the police occasionally catch smugglers of chicken meat. The smuggling of meat from Kosovo and Metrohija became a serious business in 2000, when the province was placed under the protectorate of the international community. As a rule, the goods arrive in Bujanovac mostly over the hills between Serbia and Kosovo and Metohija, where the smugglers made makeshift roads. The meat is brought in vans to Bujanovac, where it is stored and then distributed further on. The retail price of chicken drumsticks from Kosovo and Metohija in Bujanovac is between 1.2 and 1.4 euros, which is much less than the regular price of meat in Serbia, while an 18-kilogram package of meat costs an average of 16 euros.

The smuggling ring is extremely well developed, and how lucrative the job is shown by the data that the meat in Kosovo and Metohija is up to three times cheaper than in other parts of Serbia, while the smugglers earn tens of thousands of euros from one smuggling of several tons of meat. According to unofficial information, around 16,000 kilograms of meat without proper documentation is seized, on the average, in South Serbia’s Pcinj district per year. The greatest amount of smuggled meat was found in Bujanovac and its surroundings.

The informed resources claim that chicken comes to Kosovo and Metohija, via the ports in Albania, from the United States, while pork and beef come from Argentina and Brazil. That meat is bacteriologically improper, because it had been frozen and thawed several times.

According to unofficial information, Gnjilane is the center of illegal trade. The meat comes to Kosovo and Metohija’s town from the Montenegrin ports. From there it is transferred to Serbia through the porous administrative line. However, everyone in the smuggling chain earns well from it. It’s usually five percent of the value of the goods, although there are those who work for a salary of 500 euros per month. Everyone is engaged in the business, both the Serbs and Albanians, as well as individuals from the police and customs.

Source: Vesti, Dnevnik and Coordination Body