North-Eastern Route: Mapping Cigarette Trafficking Along the North-Eastern Route

This booklet constitutes the second chapter of the ITTP NEXUS in Europe and Beyond Report. It maps the transnational traffic of cigarettes along the North-Eastern Route.Section 1 describes the main illicit cross-border flows of cigarettes along the Route.Section 2 outlines the main types of illicit cigarettes trafficked along the Route.Section 3 presents the main criminal actors involved in cigarette smuggling along the Route.Section 4 focuses on five key nodes of the Route (i.e., Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic states), uncovering several country-level contextual factors and drivers behind cigarette smuggling.Section 5 describes the evolution of the Route in the last ten years (2008-2017).Section 6 discusses the potential changes and developments that may impact on the Route in the near future. Section 7 graphically summarises the enabling factors identified as drivers behind the traffic of cigarettes along the North-Eastern Route. The factors are divided among six macro dimensions, namely political, geographical, regulation and enforcement, socio-economic, cultural, and criminal factors.