More than 100 law enforcement officers working with Europol this week raided multiple illegal cigarette production lines that have been flooding the French market with millions of counterfeit cigarettes.
The illicit operations were dismantled in Slovenia as a result of a complex investigation between the French and Slovenian authorities with the support of Europol.
Europol said in a statement on Friday morning that the investigation, initiated in October 2020, had focused on an organised crime group involved in the illicit production and distribution of cigarettes. After two successful ‘action’ days in France in April and May 2021 targeting the criminals involved in the distribution of these counterfeit cigarettes, the Slovenian authorities started a mirror investigation, aimed at arresting the suspects responsible for the production of these illegal products.
“Following several coordination meetings between the French and Slovenian judicial and law enforcement authorities under the aegis of Eurojust and Europol, it was agreed to organise an action day in Slovenia,” Europol said.
More than 100 officers from the Slovenian National Police Force (Policija) and Financial Administration (Finančna Uprava) on Tuesday, January 25, simultaneously raided 11 sites, including industrial premises and private residences.
They were assisted in the field by officers from the French Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie Nationale), as well as French magistrates from the Bordeaux Interregional Specialised Court (JIRS) and Europol officers.
“This action made it possible to find several production sites established in warehouses located in remote areas of Slovenia. In total, over 26 tonnes of tobacco were seized in Slovenia, as well as 29 million filters, several machines intended for cigarette manufacture and ten tonnes of printed papers for packaging. The amount of cigarettes which could have been produced with the seized merchandise would have had a value of €13 million on the French market,” Europol said.
“Two leaders of the criminal network in charge of the manufacture of cigarettes were arrested on the grounds of European arrest warrants, one in Croatia, one in Slovenia. They will be handed over to the judicial authorities of the Bordeaux JIRS,” Europol added.
Earlier in the same case, the Slovenian Financial Administration in November 2021 seized some additional 12 tonnes of cut tobacco.
Europol’s European Financial and Economic Crime Centre (EFECC) supported the investigation by providing its secure communication platform and facilitating international cooperation between France, Slovenia and other member states, running cross-checks and providing analytical support and operational expertise. One of its experts was deployed to Maribor in Slovenia to assist the national authorities with the action day.