Underground tobacco workshops with over 25 tons of raw materials exposed in Bukovyna – photos, video

In the Dniester district of Chernivtsi region, officers of the State Border Guard Service together with detectives of the Bureau of Economic Security exposed illegal tobacco production, which was then used to make counterfeit cigarettes. This was reported to by the Western Regional Directorate of the State Border Guard Service and the BES.

According to the BES, one of the local farmers organized the illegal cultivation, processing and sale of fermented tobacco. He set up equipment for cleaning, sorting, and pressing leaves in the workshops, and containerized drying facilities in the yard.

During the searches, more than 25 tons of raw materials, equipment for their sorting and processing, 12 containers for drying tobacco, three units of special equipment, as well as mobile phones, money, draft records and equipment worth more than UAH 30 million were seized.

Criminal proceedings were initiated against the detainees for smuggling excisable goods. They face up to 12 years in prison.

• on July 15, the police exposed a large-scale network that manufactured and sold counterfeit agrochemical products under the guise of goods from leading international companies.