A cigarette smuggling ring using drones was uncovered in Bukovina
In the Chernivtsi region, law enforcement officials uncovered preparations for the illegal smuggling of counterfeit tobacco products across the state border.
This was reported by the Office of the Prosecutor General.
The organizers of the scheme planned to use homemade unmanned aerial vehicles to transport the goods, having set up a launch site in close proximity to the border.
According to the Office of the Prosecutor General, the launch site for the “air couriers” was discovered near the village of Oprysheny.
The perpetrators counted on the quick and discreet movement of cargo bypassing official checkpoints, using two powerful drones capable of carrying significant weight.
“Near the village of Oprysheny, practically right at the border, a site was set up from which they planned to launch the UAVs.
According to the investigation, they were to be used as ‘air couriers’—for the quick and discreet smuggling of cigarettes out of Ukraine,” the agency’s statement noted.
During the investigative operations, law enforcement officers seized not only the aircraft but also a large shipment of goods prepared for shipment.
This includes 34 packages of cigarettes from well-known global brands without excise tax stamps, the total value of which, according to preliminary estimates, exceeds 1 million hryvnias.
The smugglers’ technical equipment was state-of-the-art: in addition to drones, authorities seized a pneumatic launcher, remote controls, and a laptop with the necessary software.
To track the exact route and landing site in the neighboring territory, the traffickers used modern GPS trackers.
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