Gunfire to detain Ukrainian national caught smuggling cigarettes at northern border

On the 1st March, border police officers noticed four people carrying bulky parcels from the border line to the interior of the country in the direction of the town of Lunca la Tisa.

The border police acted to detain them, but they abandoned the parcels and fled to the Ukrainian territory. 2 warning shots were fired and one man (dressed in a neoprene suit) was detained, and the other three jumped into the water of the Tisa river, reaching the territory of the neighboring state.

The Ukrainian authorities were immediately notified of the event, in order to jointly investigate the case.

At the scene, the border police discovered 8 packages of cigarettes, which were transported to the institution’s headquarters, together with the detained man, a 20-year-old Ukrainian citizen, in order to continue the investigations.