Under the procedural guidance of the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Prosecutor's Office, an illegal scheme for the unlawful production and sale of tobacco has been terminated.

The investigation established that a group of residents from the Kolomyia region had set up a complete cycle of illegal tobacco production – from growing, fermenting, drying, and shredding tobacco raw materials to selling the finished products in various regions of Ukraine.

The total area of illegal plantations was over 12 hectares. Sales were conducted without any permits by sending postal shipments. The weekly volumes of illegal tobacco production amounted to up to 500 kg of finished products.

According to Ukrainian legislation, for the legal production and sale of tobacco, business entities must obtain special licenses issued by tax authorities. Instead, the participants in the scheme engaged in the tobacco business without any permits.

As a result of the searches, over 8 tons of tobacco raw materials and tobacco, equipment for its production, as well as vehicles, mobile phones, and shadow accounting were seized.

The pre-trial investigation is being conducted by the Department of Economic Security in the Transcarpathian region under the procedural guidance of the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Prosecutor's Office.

Note: according to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of committing a crime and cannot be subjected to criminal punishment until their guilt is proven in a lawful manner and established by a guilty verdict of the court.