Ordered 26,000 packs of counterfeit cigarettes for sale over the Internet: Bukovyna resident to face trial based on ESBU materials

 Detectives of the Territorial Office of the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine in the Chernivtsi region have completed the pre-trial investigation and forwarded the indictment to court regarding a resident of the Chernivtsi district, who is accused of illegal acquisition and transportation of illegally manufactured tobacco products for the purpose of sale.

According to the investigation, the suspect ordered 26 thousand packs of illegal cigarettes of well-known brands over the Internet. After receiving the goods at a post office, he loaded them into a minibus. However, he failed to deliver the goods to the destination—the vehicle was stopped by law enforcement officers.

During the inspection, 52 boxes of illegally manufactured tobacco products without excise tax stamps, with an estimated market value of UAH 2.6 million, and the minibus used to transport them were seized.

According to the conclusion of the forensic commodity expert evaluation, the seized tobacco products do not comply with the requirements of current legislation and state standards of Ukraine.

The indictment under Part 1 of Article 204 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine has been forwarded to the court.

Operational support was provided by the officers of the 31st Border Guard Detachment of the State Border Guard Service. The prosecution was supervised by the Chernivtsi Regional Prosecutor's Office.

According 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 in accordance with the law and established by a court verdict of guilty.