Zlin, South Moravia, March 14 (CTK) – The Czech Kobra (Cobra) special police unit from Zlin uncovered an illegal cigarette packaging line in the vicinity of Kromeriz, south Moravia, last week, Michal Zapletal, from the local customs authority, told reporters on Tuesday.
Detectives detained three men red-handed on the spot and found 600,000 cigarettes and other material for the production of about 27 million cigarettes.
The perpetrators would thereby cause a VAT and excise tax evasion worth some 86 million crowns, Zapletal, head of the customs investigation section in Olomouc, north Moravia, said.
The men acquired a complete functioning cigarette packaging line that they installed in a former kindergarten building at the end of last year. They used forged cigarette packets of famous trademarks that they fitted with false stamps.
However, only a low number of the illegal cigarettes were put into circulation.
The detained men, aged 43, 52 and 62 years, have not been accused yet. They face up to ten years in prison for evasion of taxes, fees and similar obligatory payments.
The Kobra team is comprised of experts from the police and the financial and customs authorities.
