Undercover Operations in Odesa Uncover Illegal Tobacco Production
In Odesa, law enforcement agencies have uncovered and shut down the operations of two underground tobacco production facilities. The organizer and his accomplices could face up to 10 years in prison with asset confiscation.
Operatives from the strategic investigations department, along with detectives from the BEB in Odesa, arrested a 50-year-old local man for establishing an illegal business.
Having rented storage spaces near the city center, he converted them into workshops for producing hookah tobacco. To facilitate full production cycles, the organizer recruited 17 individuals. One of them was a technologist responsible for producing and packaging tobacco, while another handled packaging and transportation of the products. Yet another individual managed advertising and distribution of the illegally produced goods online. The products were sold to restaurants, cafes, and shops in the region via Telegram and Instagram.
Police conducted searches at the residences of the suspects and at the places of production and storage of illicit goods. Over 500,000 hryvnias, 8,000 euros, and more than 9,000 dollars were seized, along with seven vehicles, finished products, and raw materials valued at nearly 18 million hryvnias, electronic smoking devices, dryers, mixers, and other production equipment.
The investigation continues under Part 3 of Article 204 of the Criminal Code, supervised by the Odesa regional prosecutor's office.
