Illegal cigarette factory seized, guaranteed 120 million profit per year

An 'impressive industrial factory for the manufacture of cigarettes, equipped with all the necessary equipment and machinery for a large-scale production line', which guaranteed profits of EUR 120 million per year.

This is the plant in Vigonza, in the province of Padua, that the financial officers of the Palermo Provincial Command discovered and seized, with the operational support of their colleagues in Padua, in a vast operation to combat the illicit production of smuggled manufactured tobacco. The operation was coordinated by the European Public Prosecutor's Office (Eppo) - Palermo office.

Over EUR 1 million was the value of the plant, which produced approximately 2 million cigarettes per day. Inside the seized plant, which covers a total area of approximately 5,000 square metres, 5.5 tonnes of cigarettes, 16 tonnes of tobacco, 14 pallets of precursors, including materials for the packaging of cigarette packets with the logos of renowned manufacturers (Marlboro Red, Marlboro Gold and L&M), as well as a lorry used for transporting the cigarettes were found and seized.

At the time of access, the presence of three Moldovan nationals was also detected, all of whom were referred to the delegating Judicial Authority for the offences of possession of contraband tobacco products and counterfeiting of trademarks. The principle of presumption of innocence applies to all three.

The perpetrators used remedial means to protect goods destined for illegal establishments, in particular jamming devices and frequency detectors, used respectively to inhibit radio communications (by blocking signals such as GSM and GPS) and to detect any satellite tracking equipment installed by the police.