An attempt was made to illegally import a cigarette production line into the territory of Lviv region

An attempt was made to illegally import a cigarette production line into the territory of Lviv region

At the border with Poland, Lviv customs officers, together with detectives from the Bureau of Economic Security (BES), confiscated equipment for the illegal production of cigarettes. The value of the cigarette production line exceeds 5 million UAH.

As reported by the BES and Lviv customs on December 17, an attempt was made to illegally import the cigarette production line into Ukraine through the checkpoint "Rava-Ruska – Hrebenne." According to the submitted documents, the driver of the Volvo truck was transporting disassembled "goods packaging equipment" to one of the enterprises in the Odesa region. The declared value of the goods was 416 thousand UAH.

During the inspection of the truck, customs officers found that the goods did not have identification plates and consisted of two used machines. Packs of cigarettes were spotted on the machines. Cigarettes were also found in the gaps between the working elements of the equipment.

After a full inspection of the vehicle and verification of documents, customs officers determined that equipment for the illegal production of tobacco products was being transported into Ukraine. Its estimated value exceeds 5 million UAH.

The equipment was seized. A series of forensic examinations have been scheduled. Detectives from the BEB’s territorial office in the Lviv region are conducting a pre-trial investigation for criminal offenses under Part 2 of Article 204 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.