Eight men aged between 32 and 53 from Moldova, Ukraine, Romania, Poland and Georgia were arrested on suspicion that they formed part of two criminal groups that manufactured and sold tobacco products. It was established that these founded a number of clandestine factories in Ukraine and Poland. During a year, while the groups had been being followed, the suspects caused damage of €25 million to the Polish state. Three Moldovans, who are former employees of the Chisinau company “Tutun CTC”, were involved in the production process, IPN reports.

According to the Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime and Special Cases, together with the National Investigations Inspectorate and the law enforcement agencies of Ukraine, an illegal cigarette factory was identified in Cernauti region of Ukraine. The recruited Moldovans worked there. These were taken to Ukraine and forced to work there.

On March 13, 2018, as a result of searches carried out by the police of Moldova, Ukraine and Poland at suspects’ homes and at the factories, there were found industrial machines for making cigarettes and auxiliary equipment for processing raw material.

Criminal cases were started over the illegal production and sale of excisable products by an organized criminal group, for which the legislation of Poland stipulates six to ten years in jail, and over the manufacturing, possession, purchase, transport and import of excise duties into Ukraine with the intention of selling these, the punishment for which is three to eight years behind bars and confiscation of property.

The Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime and Special Cases also started a criminal case over the facilitation of Moldovans’ entry into Poland by illegally crossing Ukraine’s territory. The suspects face five to seven years in prison.