The State Bureau of Investigation and the Security Service of Ukraine discovered a wholesale base with cigarettes of unknown origin without excise stamps in the Transcarpathian city of Mukachevo, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
The SBI press service claims that during the searches that took place on June 27-29, the largest batch of smuggled cigarettes in the history of independent Ukraine was seized. According to preliminary estimates, the cost of the goods is estimated at 70 million hryvnia.
Investigative actions were carried out within the framework of criminal proceedings on the illegal import into the customs territory of Ukraine of cigarettes manufactured in other countries, with the complicity of law enforcement officers. Tobacco products were sold on the black market in Ukraine and were also smuggled into the European Union.
Authorized searches took place first at one of the warehouses in Mukachevo, where they found boxes of cigarettes of such brands as Regina, D&B, Dubao, Continental. Near this premises there were 13 trucks loaded with contraband.
An investigation is underway within the framework of criminal proceedings under Part 1 of Article 204 (illegal trafficking of excisable goods) and Part 1 of Article 364 of the Criminal Code.