ESBU dismantled illegal tobacco production in Prykarpattia with 12 hectare plantations

 Detectives of the Territorial Office of the ESBU in Zakarpattia region have uncovered a group of residents in the Kolomyia district who organized a full-cycle illegal tobacco production operation, ranging from cultivation, fermentation, drying, and shredding of raw tobacco to the sale of finished products across various regions of Ukraine.

The total area of the illegal plantations exceeded 12 hectares.

The products were sold without any permits and distributed via postal services, with weekly illegal output reaching up to 500 kg of finished tobacco.

Under Ukrainian law, the legal production and sale of tobacco require special licenses issued by tax authorities; however, the suspects operated their business without any valid permits.

Search operations resulted in the seizure of over 8 tons of raw tobacco and processed products, manufacturing equipment, vehicles, mobile phones, and "shadow" accounting records.

The total value of the seized assets exceeds UAH 3.5 million.

The pre-trial investigation is ongoing under Part 1 of the Art. 204 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (illegal acquisition, storage, transport, or sale of excise goods) and Part 1 of Art. 199 (production or use of counterfeit excise tax stamps).

The case is being prosecuted by the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Prosecutor's Office.