Around 120,000 women and children are trafficked in the Balkan countries of Croatia, Montenegro, and Serbia each year, according to the International Organisation of Migration. The victims of human trafficking work in the prostitution industry, forced into arraigned marriages, work as slaves in houses and agriculture fields, while the children are forced to be beggars on the streets.
The Red Cross states that people who are already in at-risks populations are targets of human trafficking in the region. This includes refugees in camps, children without parents and people facing economic challenges.
Source: Ivana Jovanovic, “Balkan countries join effort in battle against human trafficking,” SETimes, November 15, 2012.
Oil smuggling on the black market in Kosovo is estimated to be a $100 Million industry.
The oil is produced in an oil refinery in Serbia and sold tax free to ethnic Serbs. They then smuggled it into Kosovo with the help of ethnic Albanians and sell the fuel at makeshift gas stations.
Source: Doreen Carvajal, “In Balkans, Smuggling Forges a Rare Unity,” New York Times, October 24, 2011.
The rate of cigarette smuggling in Romania decreased to 11.8 percent in September 2011, down from the 15.7 percent reported in the early summer of 2011. Tobacco smuggling is still down from the previous high of 30 percent in 2010.
The cigarettes that are smuggled into Romania originate from neighboring countries such as Moldova, Serbia and Ukraine.
Source: Otilia Haraga, “Tobacco excise tax collection totals EUR 1.27bln after Q3. Cigarette smuggling declines,” Business Review, October 11, 2011.
An estimated $12.6 Million (9 Million Euros) a year in tax revenue is lost to the Serbian Government due to fuel smuggling.
Source: Tamara Spaić, “Serbia to lose EUR 9 millions each year because of fuel smuggling,” Blic, September 7, 2011.
