ESBU exposes supplier of raw materials for clandestine tobacco factory in Poltava region
Detectives of the Territorial Department of the Bureau of Economic Security in Chernivtsi region exposed a local resident who provided raw materials for large-scale shadow cigarette production in Poltava region.
According to the investigation, the defendant was a key link in the interregional scheme and organised a full cycle of illegal fermented tobacco production on his own land plot. He grew tobacco in greenhouses, collected leaves, dried, crushed them and prepared products for further manufacturing of counterfeit cigarettes.
The man used home-made equipment, including a recycled tobacco seeder, tobacco drying and cutting machines and devices for filling cartridges. The raw materials were supplied to a clandestine factory in Kremenchuk, which was previously shut down by the BES detectives. Two industrial lines, 38 tonnes of tobacco and finished products with an estimated value of about UAH 50 million were seized there.
During five searches in Bukovyna, law enforcement officers seized 5 tonnes of fermented tobacco and a complete set of equipment. The total value of the seized goods is estimated at about UAH 3 million.
The pre-trial investigation is ongoing under the articles on illegal manufacture of excisable goods and legalisation of the proceeds of crime. Procedural supervision is provided by the Chernivtsi Regional Prosecutor's Office.
As previously reported by The Public , the Central Office of the ESBU has not seized counterfeit cigarettes or alcohol for 3 months.
