Congo diplomat's wife 'smuggled cigarettes' in Romania.



13 June 2011 Last updated at 08:00 ET
Share this page


Congo diplomat's wife 'smuggled cigarettes' in Romania
Cigarettes for sale at a street market in Pristina (archive shot) Albanian-made cigarettes often appear on the black market in Romania
Continue reading the main story
Related Stories
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/53380000/jpg/_53380446_hi005047524.jpgciga.jpg

The wife of a diplomat from the Democratic Republic of Congo has been arrested in Romania on suspicion of cigarette smuggling, Romanian prosecutors say.

Police found more than 18,000 cigarette packets hidden in her car.

Esther Pascaline Bombeto, whose husband is accredited in Serbia, reportedly claimed diplomatic immunity before police forcibly searched the car.

She was arrested while returning from Serbia.
'Window smashed'

Romanian intelligence officers and anti-crime police had put the car under surveillance for months.

"Using diplomatic immunity, the smugglers were bringing cigarettes to Romania at least twice a week," organised crime prosecutor Mircea Andres said.

Officers smashed Ms Bombeto's car window with a crow-bar to confiscate the illegal Albanian-made cigarettes after she allegedly refused to co-operate, claiming diplomatic immunity, the Associated Press news agency reports.

At least two Serbian nationals alleged to be Ms Bombeto's accomplices were also detained.

Police were also searching the homes of nine more suspected accomplices in Romania.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13749628

I saw this earlier on and the only conclusion I could come up with is that many politicians hide under the "diplomatic immunity" law for a lot of things bigger than cigarettes. I have heard many stories, but they will try to blow this as a Congo specific problem, it is not.

This is not to say I agree with the woman, she should just have found herself a smaller, more valuable hustle.

I saw this earlier on and the only conclusion I could come up with is that many politicians hide under the "diplomatic immunity" law for a lot of things bigger than cigarettes. I have heard many stories, but they will try to blow this as a Congo specific problem, it is not.

This is not to say I agree with the woman, she should just have found herself a smaller, more valuable hustle.

True!