In Romania, over 186 million contraband cigarettes seized by authorities in 2025 – over three times more than in 2024

In the first 10 months of 2025, Romanian authorities seized over 186 million contraband cigarettes, with an estimated black market value of 172,878,529 lei, more than three times the total seizures in 2024, according to data aggregated on the www.stopcontrabanda.ro platform, the only real-time centralizer of illegal cigarette seizures in Romania. BAT continues to support the authorities’ efforts to combat smuggling through a new donation of equipment for border surveillance, which adds to the series of donations to the Romanian Border Police in the recent period.

The largest seizures this year were made in the North-East (44.1 million cigarettes), South-East (41.2 million) and West (27.4 million) regions, areas traditionally vulnerable to illicit trafficking, given the proximity of borders with non-EU states, where tobacco product prices can be up to 3 times lower. According to Stop Contrabanda data, Suceava, Constanța and Timiș counties dominate the top of the largest volumes of cigarette seizures for illicit trafficking this year. Combating smuggling requires sustained efforts and permanent adaptation to a context in which organized crime networks are constantly diversifying their operating methods and tactics. The Romanian Border Police develops projects aimed at responding to and combating illicit trafficking as efficiently as possible, and BAT remains a trusted partner in this endeavor, supporting these efforts through donations of specific equipment and information campaigns carried out at national level.

“The year 2025 marks an unprecedented moment in terms of the scale of illicit trafficking in tobacco products. Record seizures and the growth of the black market above the European average show the need for a coordinated approach between authorities, industry and consumers. We welcome the efforts of the Border Police, the Romanian Police and the Customs Authority to dismantle criminal networks and for the seizures of contraband this year. To effectively combat this phenomenon, a balanced and predictable fiscal framework is essential, correlated with economic realities and which does not stimulate the migration of consumers to the illicit market. BAT Romania remains an active partner of the authorities, contributing with expertise, resources and monitoring tools, such as the Stop Contrabanda platform – a concrete example of a public-private partnership to protect the economy and the safety of communities”, said Ileana Dumitru, External Affairs Director of the South-Eastern Europe Area, BAT.

Historical catches in 2025

The year 2025 marks the largest seizures of illegal cigarettes recorded in the last 8 years, since the launch of the StopContrabanda.ro platform, which centralizes seizures of smuggled cigarettes from across the country. Thus:

• In Suceava, in April, over 32.1 million cigarettes were confiscated , worth over 16 million lei, following a large operation that involved 26 home search warrants in several counties, including Sibiu, Dolj, Teleorman, Galați, Iași, Satu Mare, Bihor, Neamț, Prahova and the municipality of Bucharest.
• In Timiș, in June, authorities recorded a record seizure of 25 million cigarettes , while also dismantling a cross-border criminal group through international cooperation.
• The catch of the year was recorded in Sibiu, on August 21, 2025. Romanian authorities discovered an illegal cigarette factory, where over 61 tons of tobacco were found, with a total black market value of approximately 153 million lei, and 23.3 million cigarettes , with a total value of 35 million lei.

In addition to these cases, authorities have also reported elaborate methods of camouflaging and transporting illegal products – from cigarettes hidden in shoes (Iași, September 2025), to cigarette packs hidden in toy parts (Botoșani, September 2025).

“Tobacco product smuggling continues to represent a significant challenge at Romania’s borders, through the direct impact it has on the national economy and on state budget revenues. In the first nine months of 2025, border police detained for confiscation over 5.1 million packs of cigarettes, worth approximately 105.8 million lei, of which over 4.4 million packs came from smuggling activities. At the same time, over 63 tons of bulk tobacco were discovered, as well as other quantities of pipe and hookah tobacco, and following complex actions, two criminal groups involved in this type of trafficking were dismantled.

The Romanian Border Police is constantly working to prevent and combat smuggling, contributing to reducing losses to the state budget and protecting the legal market. Through rigorous controls, the use of modern equipment and constant cooperation with partner institutions, we manage to limit illegal flows of goods and strengthen Romania’s economic security,” said the Inspector General of the Border Police, Chief Police Quaestor Cornel Laurian Stoica .

“Fighting smuggling remains one of the major priorities of the Romanian Customs Authority. Faced with increasingly sophisticated networks, our response is to permanently modernize the control infrastructure, increase operational capacity and strengthen inter-institutional cooperation. Through the national customs security project, financed from European and national funds, worth over 138,000,000 euros, we are equipping border customs offices with 31 X-ray scanning systems and over 300 portable equipment, which will allow for the rapid and efficient verification of means of transport and deter illicit trafficking. We continue to work in close partnership with the Border Police and other institutions to protect the national economy and the safety of citizens”, declared Mr. Alexandru Bălan, President of the Romanian Customs Authority.

Smuggling, at the highest level in the last 5 years

According to Novel Research, the black market for cigarettes in Romania reached 12% in July 2025 , the highest level in the last five years, only to stabilize at 9.6% in October , compared to an annual average of 9% in 2024. The average level of illicit cigarette trafficking in the European Union is 9.2%.

The growth of the phenomenon is determined by factors such as:

The intensification of trade flows with Romania’s accession to the Schengen area,
significant price differences for tobacco products in neighboring countries,
The decrease in purchasing power at the local level and the repeated increase in the level of taxation.
Data on the evolution of cigarette seizures in Romania are centralized in real time on the platform www.stopcontrabanda.ro, a BAT initiative that aims to support the efforts of the authorities by centralizing seizures from across the country, but also to inform consumers about the effects of cigarette smuggling on society. The campaign is carried out in partnership with the Romanian Police, the Romanian Border Police, the National Agency for Fiscal Administration (ANAF), and the Romanian Customs Authority. The “Stop Contrabanda” campaign was launched by BAT in 2017 to create a single point of information on cigarette smuggling.