The BEB shut down two underground tobacco factories that produced 130,000 packs of cigarettes daily
On July 28, detectives from the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine, in cooperation with the National Police, shut down two illegal cigarette manufacturing operations in the Lviv and Kharkiv regions. According to the investigation, the underground factories produced approximately 130,000 packs of tobacco products daily, which were sold off the books. The operation was conducted under the procedural supervision of the Office of the Prosecutor General.
The factories operated on an industrial scale and were capable of producing a combined total of over 130,000 packs of cigarettes per day. The value of the seized products, equipment, raw materials, and other supplies exceeds 60 million hryvnias.
It is noted that in the Lviv region, a group of individuals set up an illegal factory in one of the warehouse facilities. There, they installed an industrial production line and organized a full cycle of manufacturing filtered cigarettes under the guise of products from well-known international brands. Production capacity was approximately 70,000 packs of cigarettes per day. To ensure continuous operation, the factory was equipped with an industrial generator, and living quarters were set up for employees directly on the production premises.
During the searches, detectives seized the production line, 54 cartons of finished cigarettes, 36 cartons of raw tobacco, filter tips, cigarette paper, packaging film, foil, printed materials bearing well-known international brands, and other equipment. The total value of the seized property exceeds 50 million hryvnias.
Another factory is located in the Kharkiv region. There, unfiltered cigarettes were manufactured. Production capacity was approximately 60,000 packs per day. The facility operated autonomously thanks to an industrial generator. The suspects concealed the workshop’s activities and set up a full-cycle cigarette manufacturing operation.
During the investigative operations, production equipment, 117 cartons of finished products, raw tobacco, cigarette paper, printed materials, and other supplies with a total value of over 10 million hryvnias were seized.
The pretrial investigation is ongoing under Article 204 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (illegal manufacture, storage, sale, or transportation for the purpose of selling excise goods).
Operational support was provided by officers of the Strategic Investigations Department of the National Police of Ukraine under the procedural supervision of the Office of the Prosecutor General.
Source: BEB of Ukraine
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