Illegal production and sale of electronic cigarettes – 21 million UAH worth of fakes were confiscated in Lviv
Under the procedural leadership of the Lviv Regional Prosecutor’s Office, a group of persons was exposed for the fact of illegal production and sale of counterfeit excise goods (Part 1 of Article 199, Part 1 of Article 204 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
According to the investigation, a group of people set up an underground workshop in Lviv. They illegally manufactured electronic cigarettes of well-known brands, as well as smoking mixtures, tobacco for hookahs and others.
Self-made products were not marked or were used with fake excise tax stamps. The finished product was sold through a retail network and in bulk.
During searches at the addresses of people’s residences and places of economic activity, more than 90,000 items of goods without excise tax stamps, as well as with excise taxes of the Russian Federation, were discovered and seized. The total value of the seized goods is over UAH 21 million.
The law enforcement officers also seized the equipment used by manufacturers to counterfeit products, computer equipment with data carriers, draft accounting records, food flavorings, cash: 114,000 US dollars, 7,000 euros, 536,000 UAH.
Investigations are ongoing. The issue of appointing a number of examinations is being resolved.
The pre-trial investigation in criminal proceedings is carried out by detectives of the Security Service of the Lviv Region, operational support is provided by the SBU Office in the 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