Law enforcement officials successfully dismantle contraband cigarette syndicates
Months of investigations have led to a significant breakthrough, as the customs investigation unit takes action: Special operatives storm an alleged illegal cigarette production facility in North Rhine-Westphalia. Additionally, authorities conduct searches at multiple sites and apprehend 17 individuals suspected of involvement. It's reported that an individual from Eastern Europe may be the mastermind behind this large-scale tax evasion scheme.
Early in the morning, police executed 17 arrests related to alleged organized tax evasion across two federal states, as announced by the customs investigation office in Essen. The operation involved special forces from the federal police and the customs criminal office and targeted ten locations, with nine in North Rhine-Westphalia and one in Brandenburg.
According to reports, the primary suspect in this case is a 38-year-old man from the former Soviet republic of Moldova. Authorities suspect he has been operating an illegal tobacco factory in collaboration with others since at least July 2024 in Radevormwald, east of Wuppertal. The alleged contraband was then sold on the black market in both Germany and Europe.
A report from "Bild" newspaper stated that heavily armed customs operatives raided a vast warehouse in a forested area near Radevormwald (North Rhine-Westphalia) before dawn. Police had sought the public prosecutor's approval due to their uncertainty about the exact number and weaponry of the suspects inside the large hall. The raid went smoothly, with no reported resistance.
Prior to April 2024, the customs investigation office in Essen (based in Cologne) had been working alongside the Wuppertal public prosecutor's office to investigate an Eastern European criminal organization. The police accused the group of conducting large-scale tax evasion through the operation of an illicit tobacco manufacturing facility production of untaxed counterfeit cigarettes. Moreover, the public prosecutor's office implicates the suspects in commercial tax fraud through their profitable black market sales in Germany and Europe.
The raid on the illegal tobacco facility took place in Radevormwald, which is east of the city of Wuppertal in North Rhine-Westphalia. The mastermind behind this tax evasion scheme is believed to be a 38-year-old man from Moldova, who has allegedly been operating in this area since July 2024.
