Under the procedural guidance of prosecutors from the Vinnytsia Regional Prosecutor's Office, suspicions have been announced against the organizer and five members of an organized group for the illegal production, storage, and sale of tobacco products (parts 1, 2 of Article 204 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

According to the investigation, the suspects illegally produced tobacco products at their place of residence, which were subsequently sold to residents of Vinnytsia region and other cities in Ukraine. The scheme operated for almost a year.

During searches conducted based on court orders, production tools, nearly 15,000 packs of illegally produced tobacco products, almost 3,750 filter tubes, over 50,000 manufactured cigarettes, more than a ton of tobacco, and cardboard packaging for illegally produced cigarettes were discovered and seized.

At the prosecutor's request, a seizure was imposed on the confiscated goods, with an estimated value of over 2 million UAH.

Petitions for the selection of preventive measures have been submitted to the court regarding all participants in the criminal proceedings.

The crime charged is punishable by imprisonment for a term of 3 to 5 years, with confiscation and destruction of illegally produced goods, production tools, and raw materials for their production.

The pre-trial investigation is being conducted by detectives of the Territorial Department of the Bureau of Economic Security in Vinnytsia region, with operational support from the Security Service of Ukraine in Vinnytsia region.

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.