Thousands of packs of smuggled cigarettes bound for Poland were found in railroad cars with iron ore at the Izov railway station in Volyn region. This was reported by the State Customs Service, UNN reports.
The Marshal and Compliment cigarettes without excise stamps were found in the cars of different freight trains. "The contraband was hidden among tons of iron ore heading to Poland as part of a single shipment from the same sender from Kryvyi Rih. In total, 500 cartons or 5,000 packs of cigarettes were found," the State Customs Service said in a statement.
A decision is currently being made to initiate criminal proceedings over illegal transportation for the purpose of selling excisable goods.
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Oleksandr Ruvin, Director of Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise, in an exclusive interview with UNN statedthat there should be a common interest of the state and legal producers 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.