The Border Guard broke up the group responsible for the largest smuggling of cigarettes from Belarus to Poland in history. Among others, arrested seven customs officers working at the border crossing in Bobrowniki (Podlaskie Voivodeship), which was closed at the same time by the decision of the Minister of the Interior. As explained by Lieutenant Anna Michalska, a spokeswoman for the Border Guard, the closure of the crossing was not related to the detention of officers of the National Revenue Administration.
border guards together with the officers of the Internal Inspection Office of the Ministry of Finance and the Podlasie National Revenue Administration, at the request of the Podlaskie National Prosecutor’s Office, she broke up the group responsible for the largest ever smuggling of cigarettes from Belarus to Poland. In the investigation, 18 people were charged, including seven officers of the National Revenue Administration from the border crossing in Bobrowniki.
Last week, the Polish-Belarusian border crossing in Bobrowniki was closed. Lieutenant Anna Michalska, spokeswoman for the Border Guard, explained in an interview with the tvn24.pl portal that it had nothing to do with the detention of customs officers. It was primarily about tense relations with Belarus, and the flashpoint was the eight-year sentence of a maximum security prison, for Andrzej Poczobut. This is the decision of the head of the Ministry of the Interior and Administration.
– It’s a complete coincidence and has nothing to do with it. We just carried out tasks related to closing the border in Bobrowniki last week. We had to finalize this issue. The circumstances of the two cases coincided in time, she explained.
READ ALSO: The largest smuggling of cigarettes from Belarus to Poland. Among the arrested customs officers
The organizers of the biggest smuggling were detainedborder guards
They served in Bobrowniki
Michalska emphasized that in 2020-2021, when the organized crime group operated on a large scale, seven customs officers involved in this case worked at the border crossing in Bobrowniki.
However, as the spokesperson of the National Revenue Administration explains, at the time of the detentions, which took place on February 7, 2023, most of them no longer worked at this border crossing.
– The procedure lasted in the years 2020-2021. These people were in the circle of our interest. Seven people were detained, temporarily arrested for three months and the procedure for dismissal from service is pending against these persons. At the time of the arrest, some of them were in service, but they no longer worked at the border crossing in Bobrowniki – explained Justyna Pasieczyńska, KAS spokeswoman.
National Revenue Administration does not provide information on the number of customs officers currently working at the border crossing in Bobrowniki. KAS representatives explain this for security reasons. – We do not provide information on how many customs officers work on a shift or how many are generally assigned to the border crossing. It’s all about safety issues. They carry out their tasks, which are included in Article No. 2 of the Act on the National Revenue Administration – noted Justyna Pasieczyńska, spokeswoman for the National Revenue Administration
Border crossing in BobrownikiTVN24
After closing the crossing on the Polish-Belarusian border in Bobrowniki, the following are still open: Terespol – for passenger traffic and Koroszczyn-Kukuryki for goods traffic.
Main photo source: TVN24