Poland - illegal cigarette factory near Warsaw - maybe biggest facility ever found..

March 14, 2011 - Warsaw. Officers from Poland’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBS) have seized an illegal cigarette factory in Lazy, close to Warsaw, thought to be the biggest contraband (illegal, illicit) cigarette facility in Europe, to date, the Polish national radio Polskie Radio reports.

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32 people - including Polish, Lithuanian and Bulgarian citizens - were detained by law enforcement services. 16 of the detainees have been arrested under criminal charges.
Over five million cigarettes and 15 tons of tobacco have been confiscated on the factory and another 35 tons were found in a warehouse in nearby Piaseczno on the outskirts of the capital.

The illegally produced cigarettes were to be smuggled to countries of Western Europe. It is estimated the Polish treasury has lost at least 25 million zloty in taxes (over 6 million euro) as a result of this one criminal operation alone.

Reference: Bulgarian nationals arrested in Europe’s biggest illegal cigarette factory bust in Poland, FOCUS News Agency, 3/7/2011,

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