Detectives of the Territorial Department of the Economic Security Bureau in Poltava region with the operational support of the Eastern Regional Department of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine exposed a group of people who sold cigarettes without excise stamps.

The tobacco products were purchased in bulk and then sold in small shops and kiosks in Kharkiv region.

Detectives conducted 5 searches in vehicles and residential buildings which the offenders used as warehouses for storing illegal goods.

About 159 thousand packs of cigarettes without excise stamps almost a hundred electronic cigarettes (vapes) and documentation were seized. The estimated value of the seized goods is over UAH 11 million.

The pre-trial investigation under Part 3 Art. 204 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine is ongoing. The full range of involved persons is being established. Procedural supervision is carried out by prosecutors of the Poltava Region Prosecutor's Office.