Pridnestrovie stems tide of smuggling

Pridnestrovie's Novy Goyan borderpost is at the forefront in the crackdown on illegal chicken smuggling

KUCHURHAN (Tiraspol Times) - A large truckload of American-produced frozen chicken legs was seized Tuesday at the Kuchurhan border crossing point by border officials working for the State Customs Committee of the Pridnestrovskaia Moldavskaia Respublica, PMR.

The crackdown is the latest move in an operation to stem a tide of smuggling involving frozen food, most notably American chicken legs or "drumsticks" as they are known to fastfood consumers all over the world. The products come from Tyson Foods, a company in Springdale, Arkansas.

These illicit chicken legs took centerpiece in smuggling accusations against Pridnestrovie after it was proven that the country does not manufacture weapons or engage in any arms trafficking of any kind. In June, then-OSCE head William Hill categorically stated that there is no evidence of any weapons manufacture or weapons export from Pridnestrovie. In a press conference held in Chisinau, the Ambassador clearly refuted any claims of weapons smuggling from Pridnestrovie and highlighted that the first six months of EUBAM missions, performing European Union border assistance monitoring, failed to detect any sign of such shipments.

William Hill highlighted that the biggest smuggling load was an unusually high amount of frozen chicken legs, a concern shared by EUBAM which states that the import and re-export by PMR-based based companies of frozen food is circumventing customs revenue collection by Ukraine.

" - While serious, the "chicken threat" is far cry from the hysterics of weapons of mass destruction", says Roman Konoplev, a local news agency editor.
" - And there are no indications that the government is in any way, shape or form helping with this trade. Like smuggling in most other parts of Europe, it is done by private networks who want to evade their taxes and customs duties. And, like governments in most other parts of Europe, the government works to crack down on the trade, and bring it into the formal, revenue-generating sector."

Landlocked country

The authorities in Pridnestrovie vehemently deny that they engage in smuggling. President Smirnov points out the obvious: That Pridnestrovie is a landlocked country. If such illegal activity takes place it could only do so with the cooperation of its neighbours, neither of which have been targeted for attack in the same way.

Rouslan Slobodeniuc, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, pointed out that “both Ukraine and PMR are under such close scrutiny by the EU that it makes contraband smuggling impossible. European observers have a permanent mission on our borders”.

Status reports on crackdowns published by PMR's State Customs Committee reveal that the chicken threat is American in origin, and that it is being brought under control in a repeated series of busts aimed at putting the smugglers out of business. Some of the raids happen on Pridnestrovie's side of the border, most notably in Rybnitsa, in northern Pridnestrovie, which has been a preferred transshipment point from smuggling loads originating from Moldova. Others happen on the Ukrainian side of the border, in the presence of the European Union border assistance monitors.

On 21 September, EUBAM endorsed the first part of an EC-financed project border controls improvement project, called BOMMOLUK, with an overall budget worth €9 million. The funding for the first phase is €3.3 million.

" - The Mission’s staff are already making a difference to border management by the day to day transfer of skills. The equipment and specialised training which will be provided by BOMMOLUK will underpin these efforts and make a sustainable improvement to border control”, said the EUBAM Head of Mission, Ferenc Banfi.

EUBAM is entirely funded by the European Union, with the United Nations Development Programme as implementing partner.

Busy border

Kuchurhan is the largest border crossing between Ukraine and Pridnestrovie. The Kuchurhan border crossing point is one of the busiest borders in this part of Southeastern Europe, testifying to the openness of the PMR economy and the integration of its exporters into international markets.

According to statistics published by the European Union, in 2005, the Kuchurhan railway had approximately 6,400,000 tons of export, including transit cargo, which was mainly coal, petrol, sugar, cement and building materials. The import was approximately 400,000 tonnes; mainly coal, starch, iron ore and petrol.

In 2005 around 1,786,000 persons, 398,000 cars, 15,900 trucks and 46,500 busses crossed the border via Kuchurhan Road. The border crossing point is located on the main road between Odessa, going to to Tiraspol, the capital of Pridnestrovie, and then continuing onwards to Chisinau, the capital of Moldova.

A border customs conflict with Ukraine started on March 3, 2006, when Ukraine imposed new customs regulations on its border with Pridnestrovie by declaring that it will only import goods from Pridnestrovie with documents processed by Moldovan customs offices, in effect leaving exporters from Pridnestrovie at the mercy of what they themselves consider to be the customs office of a foreign country - in this case, Moldova. Pridnestrovie, also known as Transnistria or Transdniester, declared independence in 1990 in an act which rendered Moldovans laws null and void. Chisinau has not been able to enforce or impose its authority on the self-proclaimed country since that date. (With information from EUBAM)

See also:
» PMR cracks down on American "drumstick smuggling"