Two Romanian citizens tried to smuggle one million hryvnias worth of cigarettes from Ukraine
Kyiv • UNN
Two Romanian citizens were detained in Bukovyna for attempting to smuggle cigarettes. The women hid more than 14 thousand packs of cigarettes in the double floor of their trucks and face a fine of up to UAH 170 thousand.
In Chernivtsi region, two Romanian citizens were detained who were trying to smuggle cigarettes worth more than a million hryvnias. To realize their plan, the women arranged a “double” floor in two trucks, where they tried to hide the contraband. This was reported by UNN with reference to the Bureau of Economic Security.
It is noted that two Romanian citizens arranged a “double” floor in their cars and hid cigarettes without Ukrainian excise tax stamps.
As a result of the search, BES detectives seized more than 14 thousand packs of cigarettes worth over a million hryvnias, two trucks and mobile phones.
The pre-trial investigation under Part 1 Art. 204 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (illegal purchase, storage and transportation of excisable goods for sale) is ongoing. Procedural supervision is carried out by prosecutors of the Chernivtsi Regional Prosecutor's Office. The defendants in the case face a fine of UAH 85,000 to UAH 170,000 with confiscation and destruction of illegally manufactured goods
The pre-trial investigation under Part 1 Art. 204 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (illegal purchase, storage and transportation of excisable goods for sale) is ongoing. Procedural supervision is carried out by prosecutors of the Chernivtsi Region Prosecutor's Office.
The defendants in the case face a fine of UAH 85,000 to 170,000 with confiscation and destruction of the illegally manufactured goods
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Oleksandr Ruvin, Director of Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise, in an exclusive interview with UNN , said that 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 irrefutable evidence from forensic experts makes it possible to bring offenders to justice. Thus, the fight against the shadow tobacco market is a joint and complex task.
It is the expertise that is evidence in court, so this is a joint task for both expert institutions and law enforcement agencies, and all government agencies involved. Of course, the processes are very complex, 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, measured in huge amounts
