Officers of the Customs and Tax Service from the Lower Silesian KAS, the CBŚP from Łódź and the Nadodrze Border Guard Unit dismantled a criminal group that illegally produced cigarettes. – The criminals installed a cigarette production line in farm buildings. The cigarettes bore the trademarks of well-known manufacturers – reports Agnieszka Rzeźnicka-Gniadek, spokesperson for the Lower Silesian KAS.
She adds:
At the illegal factory, officers secured nearly 9 million cigarettes and more than 9.5 tonnes of cut tobacco. The value of the tobacco products was estimated at more than PLN 8.5 million. If the illegal cigarettes had reached the black market, losses to the state treasury would have amounted to nearly PLN 18 million. Semi-finished products and equipment for cigarette production were valued at more than PLN 1.5 million.
Four perpetrators were arrested at the illegal cigarette factory. At the prosecutor’s request, the district court ordered the arrested persons to be held in temporary custody for three months. Agnieszka Rzeźnicka-Gniadek: – The suspects have been charged with participation in an organized criminal group and the illegal production of cigarettes. They face up to 5 years in prison.
The investigation is being conducted by the Lower Silesian KAS and the CBŚP under the supervision of the Łódź Branch Office of the National Prosecutor’s Office.