Investigators have completed a pre-trial investigation into the case of illegal production and sale of liquids for electronic cigarettes. The scheme operated in the Kyiv, Vinnytsia, Zakarpattia and Lviv regions. The indictment has been sent to the court.
This was reported by the Kyiv Regional Prosecutor's Office.
According to the case materials, the defendants established a full cycle of illegal production: from the purchase of raw materials to the manufacture and sale of counterfeit products. Some of the participants were responsible for the supply of components, while others were responsible for production and sale through illegal retail outlets and online platforms.
The prosecutor's office said that law enforcement officers conducted 11 authorized searches and seized industrial lines for manufacturing liquids, packaging and labeling equipment, 70 boxes of counterfeit electronic cigarettes without excise tax stamps, pod systems, cartridges, components, glycerin, propylene glycol, printed products with logos of famous brands, as well as computer equipment, mobile phones, and draft accounting.
“Clandestine production has been stopped. The estimated value of the seized goods and material assets exceeds 10 million hryvnias,” the report says.
The suspect in the organization of the scheme is charged with Part 1 and Part 2 of Article 204 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – illegal storage, sale and transportation for the purpose of sale of excisable goods. The sanction provides for up to 5 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property.
The underground production of liquids for electronic cigarettes in the Kyiv region was exposed in November last year, the Bureau of Economic Security reported.