Esther Pascalene, the wife of second counselor for the Congolese embassy in Serbia, says her husband instructed her to deliver smuggled cigarettes to people in Romania.
Pascalene was arrested in June when Romanian police caught her with 1,800 cartons of cigarettes in her car, for which she was to be paid €1,600. Prosecutors also charged Marc Marius Itela Elombola, her huband, in absentia. Pascalene attempted to claim diplomatic immunity but it does not apply outside of Serbia.
Three Serbs and four Romanians suspected of assisting in the smuggling are also facing charges. If found guilty, they could face up to seven years in prison.
Approximately 16 percent of cigarettes in Romania are currently purchased on the black market, according to the latest data from Novel Research Company. The rate has been on a steady overall decrease from 36 percent in January 2010, when a new tax on cigarettes was introduced.
