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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Operational centre for fighting organised crime opened

Belgrade, 30 June 2004

The Serbian Customs Administration has opened an operational center for fighting organised crime, funded from a British donation worth €610,000. The donation includes equipment for gathering information on irregularities in customs clearance of goods, 14 vehicles, and a speedboat to patrol the Drina, Danube, and Sava rivers.

British Ambassador to Serbia-Montenegro David Gowan said that the donation was approved in cooperation with the European Union’s Customs and Fiscal Assistance Office (CAFAO) and added that the operational centre is on the level of such centres in the EU.

According to Gowan, apart from assistance to the customs service, the centre will also have a “hotline” for citizens to report damages from smuggling and defaulting taxpayers. Gowan also announced that a similar centre will be opened in Montenegro soon, so as to enable Serbia-Montenegro to create a customs zone in line with European criteria.

Head of the CAFAO office in Serbia-Montenegro Mike Manzen said that the British government will continue to provide assistance to Serbia’s customs service, which he said is improving rapidly.

Director of the Serbian Customs Administration Dragan Jerinic said that the main task of the centre is to speed up the flow of goods and step up border control, adding that the operational centre is already connected with Serbia’s tax administration, Ministry of Interior, and the Security and Intelligence Agency (BIA).