Ordering via Telegram, delivery by mail: Court found an Odesa resident guilty of reselling counterfeit cigarettes

 The court found a resident of the Odesa district guilty of reselling illegally manufactured cigarettes through Telegram. The man bought and sold tobacco products without appropriate licenses.

Detectives of the Territorial Office of the ESBU in the Odesa region established that the man created a special channel in the Telegram messenger, which he used to sell cigarettes of various trademarks. For conspiracy, he communicated with buyers exclusively through the messenger and sent orders through a postal operator.

The suspect stored the illegally manufactured tobacco products in a non-residential building in the village of Lymanka, Odesa district. To mask his activity when sending the goods, the man used the personal data of another person who was unaware of his illegal activity.

The suspect was exposed while selling another batch of illegally manufactured cigarettes. During an authorized search, ESBU detectives seized nearly 6,000 packs of tobacco products without excise tax stamps worth over 1.2 million UAH.

It was established that the cigarettes did not meet the requirements of the current legislation of Ukraine, and their sale on the territory of Ukraine is prohibited. In order to ensure the reimbursement of damages caused as a result of the criminal offense, the seized property was placed under arrest.

The man was found guilty of committing an offense under part 1 of article 204 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - illegal acquisition for sale, storage, transportation, and sale of illegally manufactured tobacco products.

The suspect was sentenced to a fine with confiscation and destruction of the illegally manufactured goods.

Procedural guidance was carried out by prosecutors of the Odesa Regional Prosecutor's Office.