The crime was uncovered in connection with a joint operation by the police and the Road Transport Inspection carried out on 25 June 2015, involving inspections of trucks and vans. In Legnica, the checkpoint was located on national road No. 3, near the economic zone.

At one point, a police officer on motorcycle duty noticed a DAF truck with a trailer and Zielona Góra registration plates turning off national road No. 3 towards the town of Złotniki. Suspecting that the driver was trying to avoid the inspection, the officer stopped the vehicle for checking. The driver, who turned out to be Robert W., claimed that he was going to deliver a package to a friend. Because the vehicle lacked the required tachograph and had leaks of operating fluids, the driver was instructed to go to the checkpoint on Jaworzyńska Street.

There, after the cargo compartment was opened, it turned out that the entire trailer was filled with pallets bearing 39 cartons of finely cut smoking tobacco. A strong smell was coming from one of the damaged cartons. The cartons were wrapped in black plastic and had none of the customary markings. The driver had none of the transport documents required in such a case.

After weighing, it was established that the 39 cartons, bearing no Polish excise stamps, contained 5,625 kg of finely cut smoking tobacco. Excise tax of more than PLN 4,200,000 was due to the State Treasury on such an amount of tobacco.

W. was charged with excise-goods trafficking. The offense is punishable by a fine ranging from PLN 583.33 to PLN 16,799,040, or imprisonment for up to 3 years, or both penalties combined.

Robert W. did not admit to committing the alleged offense. He claimed that he was transporting the goods from the Jawor area to Legnica for a specified sum of money, at the request of a man he did not know and with whom he had no contact, not even by telephone. He wanted to earn some extra money this way. He had not concluded any agreement for transporting the goods and had received no documents.

The above-mentioned individual was placed under police supervision, banned from leaving the country and subjected to a property security measure of PLN 21,300.

The prosecutor assessed that the circumstances accompanying the incident unequivocally demonstrated that the accused had fulfilled the elements of the alleged offense of excise-goods trafficking. The case will be heard by the District Court in Legnica.

Liliana Łukasiewicz, press spokesperson for the District Prosecutor’s Office in Legnica/ii