Illegal Cigarette Factory Dismantled in Latvia

Latvian authorities dismantled a large illegal cigarette factory last week.

The massive illegal manufacturing site was fully equipped with production machinery and raw materials. Police detained 32 people and seized nearly 300 million cigarettes, along with approximately 47 tons of leaf tobacco.

If the cigarettes had entered the market, they would have deprived the Latvian state of more than €75 million in revenues, according to authorities.

Searches were conducted simultaneously at multiple locations. Police carried out 26 searches in Riga, discovering warehouses containing cigarettes and detaining seven individuals, including six Latvian and one Russian national.

Meanwhile, the state border guard carried conducted eight searches in Ludza, Rēzekne and Daugavpils, detaining 25 Ukrainian nationals at the Ludza factory, where counterfeit cigarettes were being manufactured under well-known brand names.

The investigation was supported by Europol, which provided analytical support, and the Lithuanian Customs Criminal Service.