In Odesa region, a man was confiscated counterfeit cigarettes without excise stamps worth one million hryvnias. He received the goods through delivery services and stored them in rented garages. This was reported by the Bureau of Economic Security, UNN writes.
According to the BES, after receiving the goods, the man sold them in bulk in the markets of Odesa.
"Detectives conducted 8 searches in the suspect's apartment, in the places of storage of products and cars. As a result, the officers seized 12,000 packs of cigarettes, express delivery notes, and mobile phones. The estimated value of the seized counterfeit products is one million hryvnias," the BES said in a statement.
Law enforcement officers added that the full range of persons involved in the scheme and the origin of the goods is currently being established.
The pre-trial investigation into the illegal manufacture, storage, sale or transportation of excisable goods for the purpose of sale is ongoing.
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Oleksandr Ruvin, Director of Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise, in an exclusive interview with UNN , statedthat the state and legal producers should be interested in reducing the number of counterfeit tobacco products. At the same time, there should be a clear understanding that only indisputable evidence from forensic experts makes it possible to bring offenders to justice.
"It is the expertise that is evidence in court, so this is a joint task for both expert institutions and law enforcement agencies, all government agencies involved. Of course, the processes are very complicated, not all manufacturers are open to cooperation, and there are other difficulties. There are major players in Ukraine - tobacco manufacturers are large companies that are interested in ensuring that both the state and themselves do not suffer losses from counterfeiting. After all, if there are fewer counterfeits, the manufacturer will sell more of its legal products, make more profit, and, accordingly, more taxes will go to the state budget. They are ready to provide all samples, open data, and cooperate in every way. However, there are cases where the opposite is true, and it is logical to assume that in those cases there are a lot of risks, we are talking about very large-scale losses for the state, which are measured in huge amounts," Ruvin said.