Illegal sale of cigarettes without excise tax stamps: ESBU in Odesa has referred the case to court

 Detectives of the Territorial Office of the Economic Security Bureau in the Odesa region have completed a pre-trial investigation regarding a 51-year-old native of Armenia. The man organized the sale of illegally manufactured tobacco products.

During the pre-trial investigation, detectives established that since the beginning of the year, the suspect had been illegally reselling cigarettes at inflated prices without the appropriate permits or licenses to trade in excise goods.

He accepted orders through Telegram channels and shipped them by mail throughout Ukraine. The goods were stored in a warehouse on Zabolotnoho Street.

During searches at the suspect's place of residence and the storage sites for excise goods, ESBU detectives discovered over 1,000 packs of tobacco products. The seized goods, valued at over half a million UAH, have been placed under arrest.

The preliminary amount of losses caused to the state due to non-payment of excise tax may amount to tens of thousands of hryvnias.

The man was served with a notice of suspicion under Part 1 of Art. 204 (illegal manufacture, storage, sale, or transportation for the purpose of sale of excise goods) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The indictment has been sent to court.

Operational support was provided by the officers of the Sea Guard Department of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.

Procedural oversight was conducted by prosecutors of the Odesa Regional Prosecutor's Office.