In the framework of international cooperation with the EU countries, detectives of the Main Detective Unit and the Territorial Department of the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine in Odesa region together with the Police of the Republic of Romania prevented illegal import of excisable goods into the territory of Ukraine. More than 64 thousand packs of cigarettes were seized.
The Bureau's specialists sent information to the Bucharest police about a container that was heading from the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to one of the ports of Odesa region via Romania. The cargo of the container contained, among other things, illegally manufactured tobacco products. The goods were to be sold in Ukraine.
While checking this information representatives of the Romanian police inspected the container in one of the ports of Romania. Law enforcement officers found illegally manufactured tobacco products of world brands without excise stamps. The estimated value of the seized products is over UAH 5 million. The investigation is ongoing.
The fight against illicit trafficking of excisable goods is carried out by the Economic Security Bureau in a systematic and comprehensive manner including with the involvement of theESBU analytical units. Earlier, employees of the Territorial Department of the ESBU in Odesa region seized a similar container with cigarettes worth almost UAH 74 million.