Tboung Khmum police shut down an illegal tobacco factory producing counterfeit Esse brand cigarettes, in collaboration with Cambodia’s provincial military police and mobile customs officers, reports the Khmer Times. The factory was located in the Memot District, near the border with Vietnam.
The factory was allegedly owned by a Cambodian tycoon, according to Tboung Khmum Provincial Economic Police Officer Major Long Sambath. Police were investigating and monitoring the factory for a month before the raid, said Sambath.
The alleged owner was not present during the raid and has not been located, though his identity is known.
“This factory has operated without any authorization from relevant provincial authorities. We discovered recently that it was producing unlicensed, counterfeit Esse cigarettes,” Sambath said.
“The authorities have already cracked down on the factory, and we will take legal action to locate and prosecute the owner of the factory,” he said.
Several tons of counterfeit cigarettes were seized along with other tobacco-related materials, including new cigarette manufacturing equipment.