Following the mass police raid to confiscate contraband tobacco in the village of Ljuboten near Skopje, DUI member of Parliament Artan Grubi demanded accountability from the police.

The Financial Police needs to explain why such serious police presence in Ljuboten. The spectacular demonstration of power was unnecessary and counter-productive, Grubi said.
Ljuboten is a majority Albanian village which was the site of a major incident in the 2001 war.

The Mayor of Butel Velimir Smilevski called on the police to give the seized tobacco back to the farmers.

The people there live off tobacco and watermelons. I called on the police to return the tobacco, as they were not smuggling it, Smilevski said.

Production and trade with tobacco is strictly regulated in Macedonia, and the country has had serious issues with cigarette smuggling.