Under the procedural supervision of the Lviv Regional Prosecutor’s Office, a scheme of illegal storage and sale of excisable goods transported through checkpoints in Lviv region outside customs control was exposed.
According to the investigation, the counterfeit excisable goods entered the territory of Ukraine from a “supplier” located in one of the EU countries.
The defendants sold disposable e-cigarettes filled with a nicotine-containing mixture and nicotine-containing e-liquids via the Telegram channel.
During the searches of the warehouse and the apartment, more than 17,000 e-cigarettes, pod systems and cartridges were seized.
The estimated value of the seized goods is UAH 11 million.
The pre-trial investigation is ongoing, all persons involved in the illegal activity are being identified. The found excisable goods were seized. A petition for their arrest has been filed with the court.
Measures are also being taken to establish the origin of the seized goods, and forensic examinations have been ordered.
The pre-trial investigation into the smuggling of excisable goods (Part 1 Art. 201-4 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) is being conducted by detectives of the Territorial Department of the Bureau of Economic Security in Lviv region, with operational support provided by the 6th Border Detachment of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.
The Department of Information Policy
of the Lviv Regional Prosecutor’s Office