Employees of the Bureau of Economic Security (BEB) together with the Department of Strategic Investigations of the National Police of Ukraine covered up the illegal production of cigarettes in one of the villages of the Mukachevo district of the Zakarpattia region.
The entrance to the workshop was carefully disguised. It was possible to get inside only through a hole in the wall, which was filled with piles of hay.
4 people worked in shifts at the factory, producing approximately 20,000 packs of cigarettes per day. Tobacco products were packed in bundles with logos of Ukrainian and foreign manufacturers and affixed with fake excise tax stamps. The finished product was taken out in several bags every day and delivered to a wholesale buyer, who later sold cigarettes on the local market, as well as in other regions of Western and Central Ukraine.
As a result of the searches, the law enforcement officers seized the production line, more than 50,000 packs of cigarettes, 2.5 tons of tobacco, almost 1 million excise tax stamps, 2 million empty packs for packing cigarettes, more than 5 million boxes for packaging finished products, etc.
The estimated value of seized tobacco products is UAH 5 million.
