From tobacco plantation to 35 million UAH in sales: 9 participants in illegal business stand trial

 Nine individuals accused of the illegal production and sale of tobacco will stand trial in the Odesa region. The members of the group established an 11-hectare plantation to cultivate tobacco. The harvested raw material was processed, and the finished products were sold through online shops and retail outlets. The resulting revenues, totaling over 35.7 million UAH, were subsequently laundered.

Detectives from the Territorial Office of the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine in the Odesa region established that the illegal business was organized by a 29-year-old man. He recruited other individuals into the operation and distributed duties among them—ranging from tobacco production and transportation to order processing, packaging, and product sales.

 The suspects systematically purchased and manufactured significant volumes of tobacco products. For this purpose, they established a tobacco plantation on an 11-hectare area within a private household property in the Ternopil region. The harvested leaves were dried in greenhouses, shredded, and prepared for subsequent sale.

A portion of the manufactured tobacco raw material was sent to Odesa by mail. There, at a clandestine warehouse, it was processed, packaged, and prepared for sale.

The primary distribution channel consisted of online stores. Customers placed orders on specially created websites, after which the products were delivered by mail throughout Ukraine. Payment was received on the bank accounts of physical persons and entrepreneurs, or in cash.

In addition, the illegally manufactured tobacco was sold in retail pavilions at the Odesa markets "Novyi" and "Kyivskyi." The total amount realized from the sale of illegally manufactured tobacco via the internet and the laundering of the resulting income exceeded 35.7 million UAH.

While documenting the illicit activity, detectives conducted 23 authorized searches across the Odesa and Ternopil regions. As a result, the operations of the clandestine tobacco workshop, the online distribution channel, and the network of illegal retail outlets were shut down.

During the searches, over 9.1 tons of tobacco, cigarettes without excise tax stamps, processing and packaging equipment, cigarette-making devices, tubes, paper, filters, flavorings, vehicles, cash, bank cards, and ledger records were seized. The total value of the seized inventory and material assets exceeds 13 million UAH.

Within the framework of the criminal proceedings, the court imposed preventive measures on six suspects in the form of detention with the option of posting bail.

Depending on their role in the scheme, the nine suspects are charged with criminal offenses under Article 204 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine—illegal operations with excisable goods. Six of them are also accused under Part 3 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine—laundering of property obtained by criminal means. The indictment has been forwarded to the court.

Prosecutorial guidance was provided by the Odesa Regional Prosecutor's Office. Operational support was provided by the Strategic Investigations Department in the Odesa Region of the SID of the National Police of Ukraine and personnel from the 26th Border Guard Detachment of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.

Pursuant to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of committing a crime and cannot be subjected to criminal punishment until their guilt is proven through legal procedures and established by a court's verdict of conviction.