The wife of a Congolese diplomat in Serbia has been detained in neighboring Romania over alleged cigarette smuggling, Romanian prosecutors said Monday.

Esther Pascaline Bombeto was arrested during the night between Sunday and Monday soon after crossing the Serbian border, the Agence France-Presse (AFP) said.

Police found some 18,500 cigarette packages concealed in her car, prosecutors said.

Three Serb nationals have also been arrested.

Her husband, Marc Marius Itela Elombola, second counselor of the Republic of Congo's embassy in Belgrade, has also been charged with smuggling.

Prosecutors said the Congolese diplomat and his wife had been smuggling large amounts of cigarettes into Romania using their car bearing diplomatic license plates.

Romanian police were early Monday searching the homes of nine Romanian alleged accomplices, said the AFP.