In the Kyiv region, the BEB exposed a group of people who sold excisable cigarettes worth UAH 5.4 million

In the Kyiv region, detectives of the Territorial Directorate of the Economic Security Bureau completed a pre-trial investigation of members of a criminal group who distributed illegally manufactured excisable goods.

Information about this was published on the official portal of the Bureau of Economic Security.

As noted in the Bureau, detectives, according to the testimony of a well-known tobacco manufacturer, learned about the sale on the market of products with counterfeit trademarks and the name of the specified company.

“The investigation established that the sale of smuggled tobacco products was organized by a group of people. The defendants sold the goods at retail outlets throughout Ukraine, delivery was carried out by mail,” the report says.

Finally, during the investigation, BEB detectives discovered and seized more than 63 thousand packs of illegally manufactured cigarettes with an estimated value of UAH 5.4 million. Also seized were $15,000 in cash and two vehicles used to transport products.

“The organizer of the scheme and his two accomplices were informed of suspicion under Part 3 of Art. 28 and part 1 of Art. 204 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (illegal manufacture, storage, sale or transportation for the purpose of selling excisable goods),” the BEB adds.

Currently, the indictment has been sent to court.

As previously reported, detectives from the Bureau of Economic Security conducted searches at the production and warehouse premises of one of the legal manufacturers of tobacco products. Law enforcement officers seized counterfeit excise products worth 7 million hryvnia.