Three men will be tried in the Poltava region for the illegal production and sale of hookah tobacco

 Detectives of the Territorial Office of the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine in the Poltava region have completed the pre-trial investigation regarding a group of individuals who organized the illegal manufacture and sale of hookah tobacco.

The underground production was organized by a local entrepreneur who had permission exclusively for the trade of excisable goods, but had no licenses for their manufacture. For production, the man rented and equipped a special premise, from where he transported products without excise stamps and sold them in his own retail establishment.

Two other Poltava residents purchased the finished packaged tobacco from the underground production for further sale via the internet and postal shipments.

During the pre-trial investigation, detectives conducted a series of searches of all suspects and at the location of the illegal production. Equipment for manufacturing smoking tobacco, raw materials (84 buckets of plant mixture, more than 80 plastic containers with flavorings and glycerin), over 3.5 thousand packages of finished products, and about 15 thousand packaging boxes were seized.

The entrepreneur who set up the production was served with a notice of suspicion under Part 1 and Part 2 of Article 204 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (illegal manufacture, storage, and sale of excisable goods). The other two men are charged with an offense under Part 2 of Article 28, Part 1 of Article 204 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (acquisition, storage, and sale of illegally manufactured tobacco products, committed by prior conspiracy by a group of persons).

The materials of the criminal proceedings have been forwarded to the court.

Procedural guidance is provided by the Poltava Oblast Prosecutor's Office.