Under the procedural guidance of the prosecutors of the Lviv Regional Prosecutor’s Office, an indictment against four members of the organized group was sent to the court. They are charged with illegal manufacture, storage and sale of excise goods (part 3 of article 28, part 1, 2 of article 204 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
The investigation established that a local resident in Lviv organized a scheme for the illegal manufacture, storage and sale of tobacco products. He involved three more of his friends in the “business”.
They equipped an underground workshop with the necessary special equipment, where they illegally produced hookah tobacco and other things.
The finished product was sold on the territory of Ukraine through a retail and wholesale network.
During the searches of people’s residences and places of business, almost 20,000 units of goods without excise tax stamps were discovered and seized.
The total value of seized products is almost 6 million UAH.
The law enforcement officers also seized the equipment used by manufacturers to produce products, computer equipment with data carriers, and draft accounting records.
The pre-trial investigation was carried out by the detectives of the Territorial Department of the Security Intelligence Service in Lviv region, operational support was carried out by the SBU Department in Lviv region.
Note: in accordance with Art. 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is considered innocent of committing a crime and cannot be subjected to criminal punishment until his guilt is proven in a legal manner and established by a court verdict.
Department of Information Policy
Lviv Regional Prosecutor’s Office