In the Cherkasy region, a group of businessmen organized a scheme for the illegal sale of electronic cigarettes and mixtures for them. During the searches, property worth almost three million hryvnias was seized from members of the criminal group. This is reported by The Bureau of Economic Security, writes UNN.
According to law enforcement officers, in the Cherkasy region, a criminal group sold illegal electronic cigarettes through retail outlets and Telegram channels. Products were also delivered to the Kiev region.
As a result of searches at places of storage and sale, more than 1.5 thousand electronic cigarettes and almost 1.7 thousand containers with liquids for them were seized from illegal circulation. In addition, BEB detectives seized phones, a hard drive, draft records and two cars. The estimated value of the seized goods is almost UAH 3 million.
Criminal proceedings have been opened on this fact under Part 1 of Article 204 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Optional
Director of the Kiev Research Institute of forensic examinations Alexander Ruvin in an exclusive interview UNN said that in reducing the number of counterfeit tobacco products should be a common interest of the state and legal producers. At the same time, there should be a clear understanding that only irrefutable evidence from forensic experts makes it possible to bring malefactors to justice. So, the fight against the shadow tobacco market is a common and complex task.
"It is the expert examination that is evidence in court, so this is a common task of both expert institutions and law enforcement agencies, all government departments involved. Of course, the processes are very complex, not all manufacturers are open to cooperation, and there are other difficulties. In Ukraine, there are major players – tobacco producers – these are large companies that are interested in ensuring that both the state and they themselves do not suffer losses from counterfeiting. After all, if there are fewer fakes, the manufacturer will sell more of its legal products, make a big profit and, accordingly, more taxes will go to the state budget. They are ready to provide all samples, open data, and cooperate in every possible 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.