– The criminal group committed fiscal and criminal offences involving the trade in tobacco brought in from Germany – explains Agnieszka Rzeźnicka-Gniadek, press spokesperson for the Lower Silesian KAS. The investigation is being conducted by officers from the Wrocław branch of the Central Bureau of Police Investigation and officers of the Lower Silesian Customs and Tax Office in Wrocław, under the supervision of the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Wrocław. The spokesperson said: – Breaking up the criminal group was possible thanks to cooperation between the Lower Silesian National Revenue Administration, CBŚP, the Nadodrzański Border Guard Unit and the prosecutor’s office.
The gang operated in Lubusz, Lower Silesian and Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeships. A warehouse where tobacco leaves were stored was located in Germany, so cooperation was established with the German customs service (ZollFahndungsamt Dresden).
The coordinated Polish-German operation led to the arrest of 5 people in Poland. In addition, a tobacco-cutting facility was dismantled and more than 2 tonnes of cut tobacco were seized. Nearly 15 tonnes of tobacco were secured in Lower Saxony. (The operation was preceded by the seizure in early July, in Lubusz Voivodeship, of 4 tonnes of tobacco that was being transported from Germany. In total, more than 21 tonnes of illegal tobacco were secured).
The prosecutor charged those arrested with participating in an organised criminal group. The suspects were remanded in custody.
Investigators are now clarifying all the circumstances of the case and the role of each person. The investigation is ongoing.