NewsSmuggling

Polish Border Guard seize 6.4 million złoty worth of illegal cigarettes, brought in from Western Europe.

Officers determined that a large shipment of tobacco products could reach Poland without Polish excise stamps. They planned actions and carried out an action on one of the properties in the Mysłowice poviat in the Śląskie voivodship.

When the services entered the facility, five men were unloading a truck trailer containing 12 pallets with cartons containing packages of illegal cigarettes. After inspecting the property, uniforms discovered four more pallets of illegal cigarettes.

The officers detained five suspects, including a German citizen, and seized a total of 6.4 million cigarettes without Polish excise stamps. Everything indicates that this product was imported to Poland from Western Europe. If the acquired tobacco products were placed on the market, the State Treasury would suffer losses due to unpaid taxes in the amount of over PLN 7.5 million.

Men, aged 41 to 52, arrested during the action, heard charges from the Fiscal Penal Code, for which they face a fine and five years’ imprisonment. Two suspects were temporarily arrested by a court decision. The proceedings are supervised by the District Prosecutor’s Office in Mysłowice.