Contraband under strawberries: an attempt to transport 360,000 cigarette packs ended in a verdict

 The court issued a verdict to a citizen of the Republic of Moldova who attempted to illegally transport across the border 360,000 packs of cigarettes worth 15 million UAH. He concealed the batch of illegal tobacco products under boxes of fresh strawberries.

The scheme was exposed during customs control at the "Mamalyha-Kryva" checkpoint—the truck turned out to be significantly heavier than indicated in the shipping documents. For an in-depth inspection, the vehicle was directed to the "Porubne-Siret" checkpoint, where a stationary scanner definitively confirmed the presence of the hidden cargo.

As a result of the inspection, law enforcement officers seized 360,000 packs of tobacco products without excise tax stamps, as well as a truck with a refrigerator semi-trailer.

Detectives of the Territorial Office of the ESBU in the Chernivtsi region notified the foreigner of suspicion under Part 2 of Article 201-4 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (contraband of excisable goods in a large amount) and forwarded the case to court.

Having considered the provided materials, the court found the man guilty and sentenced him to a punishment in the form of over 1.3 million UAH of a fine with the confiscation of all property belonging to him (except housing), and also deprived him of the right to engage in the transportation of excisable goods for 2 years. According to the court decision, the contraband cigarettes are subject to destruction.

Operational support in the case was carried out by employees of the 31st Border Guard Detachment of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine. Procedural guidance – the Chernivtsi Regional Prosecutor's Office.