2024-05-11 08:33:25
Days after seizing 756,000 boxes of blanks at the Danube Bridge checkpoint, the mega-revenue agency in Budapest arrested 14 people and found their production bases and warehouses
Investigators from the National Tax and Customs Administration in Budapest broke up a gang producing illegal cigarettes with the help of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Customs Agency and the Bulgarian National Revenue Agency, “24 Chasa” learned.
On April 30, the domestic authorities seized 756,000 blanks of cigarette boxes that were traveling to Hungary. A week later, the mega revenue agency there, which combines customs and tax, found their two factories and arrested 14 members of the criminal structure. It is one of the largest operating in Central Europe.
The National Tax and Customs Administration in Hungary has operational and investigative officers as well as a special operations strike force. Following the information from Bulgaria, they simultaneously attacked six industrial sites, including the two illegal cigarette factories.
The arrested are Ukrainian citizens, and most of them also had Hungarian passports. They were involved in the production and transportation of counterfeit cigarettes. The leader of the gang is detained in his residence, away from the factories and warehouses.
The arrested communicated with each other by radio stations in complete secrecy. The production of illegal cigarettes requires a lot of electricity. In order not to be noticed by consumption, they equipped their factories with aggregators. The premises were heat- and sound-insulated. during the action, 80,000 boxes of fake cigarettes, over 80 tons of cut tobacco, as well as a large amount of raw materials and machinery were found. Another 600,000 boxes could have been produced from the cut tobacco.
The mega-agency’s 200 inspectors worked for several days to seize, organize and transport the materials found.
Days earlier, customs officers from Vidin detained the 756 thousand blanks for cigarette boxes. The operation is joint with the GDBOP, the Border Police and the National Narcotics Agency, which conduct checks at all checkpoints. The illegal goods were in a garage with Bulgarian registration. According to documents, the truck was transporting latex gloves to Hungary. There were such, but only to hide the blanks under them. An inspection showed that the boxes were from Greece and were transshipped in our country.
The representatives of the trademark and the authorities in Hungary were immediately informed.