In Odesa, a man purchased a batch of counterfeit cigarettes and organized their sale through classifieds and local markets. The suspect was exposed, the goods worth more than UAH 1.5 million were seized, and the criminal proceedings were sent to court. This was reported by the Bureau of Economic Security, UNN reported.
Details
"The investigation has established that the man illegally bought a batch of cigarettes without excise stamps and rented a warehouse to store the goods. He sold the counterfeit on classifieds websites and at retail in local markets of Odesa. As a result of the searches, the Territorial Administration seized 20 thousand packs of cigarettes. The estimated value of the seized goods is UAH 1.6 million," the BES said in a statement.
The Bureau of Economic Security added that the defendant was served a notice of suspicion on the fact of illegal manufacture, storage, sale or transportation for the purpose of selling excisable goods. The indictment was sent to court.
Optional
Oleksandr Ruvin, Director of Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise, in an exclusive interview with UNN, stated that reducing counterfeit tobacco products means increasing profits of legal producers and tax revenues to the budget. At the same time, there should be a clear understanding that only indisputable evidence from forensic experts makes it possible to bring counterfeiters 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," said Ruvin.