In Odesa, the Security Service of Ukraine stopped an attempt to smuggle a large batch of cigarettes to Ukraine via the Chornomorsk Sea Port.

SBU operatives established that a lorry with a batch of smuggled goods arrived by ferry from the Black Sea Basin countries to a local importer enterprise.

During the inspection of the cargo, law enforcement officers exposed almost 600,000 packs of foreign cigarettes without excise stamps and any information on production. According to the customs declaration and shipping documents, the container must have been loaded with imported tea.

Experts preliminarly estimated the cost of seized smuggling in UAH 20,000,000 (USD 715,286).

The operation was conducted jointly with operational units of the State Border Guard Service and the Department of Port Control and Communication, with the assistance of State Customs Service of Ukraine.