Illegal Cigarettes, Czech Smokers

Czech customs officers uncovered and closed down two plants for the illegal production of cigarettes in the vicinity of Zlin which may have deprived the state of up to 29 million crowns in excise tax, General Customs Authority spokesman Jiri Bartak told CTK Wednesday. A large modern cigarette plant was in Luzkovice village and another smaller facility was situated in the complex of former farm in Vsemina, both South Moravia. "Four cigarette production and packaging lines, over 1.3 million forged cigarettes of Marlboro and Classic brands, six tonnes of cut tobacco, 400,000 pieces of forged Moldovan tobacco labels and millions of components for cigarette production were seized at the illegal plants," Bartak said. The operation against illegal cigarette producers and distributors was launched at the beginning of the year. Customs officers from Slovakia cooperated with their Czech colleagues in the raid. The plant in Luzkovice was revealed at an early stage. Customs officers thereby prevented the Czech market from being flooded with forged Marlboro cigs. "The perpetrators planned an extensive and long-term illegal production of cigarettes, which the extremely high level and capacity of the illegal plant proves," Bartak added. The plant in Vsemina was probably controlled by Moldovans. "The operation has revealed basically an 'advanced' illegal production of cigarettes moved forward from the former Soviet Union countries to the EU territory," Bartak said. The perpetrators thereby probably wanted to eliminate the losses caused by successful seizures of smuggled cigarettes at the EU's external borders and lower the transport costs, he added. The illegal plant in Vsemina was registered for a non-existing Romanian citizen on the basis of a fake Romanian passport.