Cigarette smuggling: two plants in Italy stopped for a 160 million damage to EU

Brussels – Two factories capable of producing 4 million cigarettes per day were seized by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO). The organisation’s production centre, which manufactured smuggled products, was located in Pomezia, a few kilometres from Rome, in a factory spanning over 4,000 square metres. Upon entering, officers from the Guardia di Finanza in Rome found 27 tonnes of cigarettes, 19 tonnes of tobacco, as well as 134 pallets of packaging materials. The second warehouse seized was in Ferentino, in the province of Frosinone, and was used to pack the cigarettes and distribute them throughout Europe.

The suspects, seven in total, may have been aware they were being tracked, so they used jammers and frequency detectors to evade police detection. The fraudsters will now face charges of possession of contraband tobacco products and counterfeiting of trademarks. The subjects are of Bulgarian and Ukrainian nationality.

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office, in synergy with the Italian one, has the task of investigating illicit conduct that damages the financial interests of the European Union. In this case, fraud is linked to the non-payment of taxes on the sale of cigarettes: a damage estimated by the EPPO at approximately €160 million in unpaid taxes and excise duties. In fact, the two plants produced cigarettes worth €700,000 per day, or €240 million per year.