PRES RELEASE

Date: Tuesday, November 26th, 2019
Place: Ninamedia Press Center– Novi Sad

STOP ILLEGAL TRADE!

Ninamedia presservis The project "Combating Illegal Trade through Research, Education and Awareness" will focus on the illegal trade in tobacco, alcohol and drugs, analyzing the link between illegal trade and corruption in order to reduce the tolerance of society to these forms of crime.

This was announced at a press conference to announce the realization of the project "Combating Illegal Trade through Research, Education and Awareness Raising", implemented by the Faculty of Business Economics and Entrepreneurship from Belgrade.

Project Manager at the Faculty of Business Economics and Entrepreneurship, Zorana Nikitovic, said the project will focus on the illegal trade in tobacco, alcohol and drugs, analyzing the link between illegal trade and corruption.

"The objectives of the project are to investigate illegal activities, such as: smuggling of tobacco, alcohol and drugs, counterfeiting of tobacco and alcohol products, establishing the connection of illegal trade with other forms of crime, identifying deficiencies in the existing legal framework, developing and conducting training courses in the field of combating illegal trade for police and customs officers, tax authorities, etc., conducting a wide-ranging communication campaign to raise awareness of the problem of illegal trade and its links with other forms of crime, ” Nikitovic said.

Head of project research from Center for Democracy and Human Rights Podgorica, Milos Besic, announcing research part of the project, emphasized that he would focus on clarifying the functioning of selected forms of illegal trade by analyzing and modeling them, not as a crime, but as a business with specific characteristics and environment.

The project team leader from the Faculty of Business Economics and Entrepreneurship, Goran Lapcevic, announced that, based on the collected data and research results, training programs will be created for the effective combating against illegal trade for a group of practitioners and experts from the Western Balkans, as he added, connecting and providing the basis for future cooperation.

"And the communication campaign should contribute to raising awareness of the importance of combating illegal trade and reducing the tolerance of society towards these forms of crime, as well as involving more people from science to work on this topic," Lapcevic said.

The project "Combating Illegal Trade through Research, Education and Awareness" is funded by PMI IMPACT - a global initiative launched by Philip Morris International Inc. to support public, private and non-governmental organizations in the development and implementation of projects against illegal trafficking and related crime.

Recordings from the press conference, NOVI SAD

Video recording of the entire video conference in Novi Sad

Video report from the press conference broadcast on the National Television of Serbia

Pictures from the press conference, Novi Sad