On February 25th, the Western Division of the Ukrainian State Border Service announced that border guards in Volyn Oblast, in collaboration with the Lviv Region Economic Security Bureau (BEB), had intercepted a criminal operation involving the illegal sale of counterfeit tobacco products.
An investigation has found that a criminal organization is smuggling e-cigarettes and nicotine-containing e-liquids into Ukraine through illegal channels. These products originate from a supplier in the European Union, bypassing the normal customs procedures to enter the Ukrainian market.
The police have discovered that these counterfeit goods are mainly sold through "Telegram" groups, using mailing methods to distribute them in bulk or retail to areas such as Kyiv, Lviv, and Rivne. In Rivne Oblast, law enforcement officers found a warehouse storing illegal goods and seized over 7,600 bottles of nicotine e-liquid, 345 e-cigarettes, a large quantity of related e-liquid, 395 packs of hookah tobacco, and e-cigarette devices. The seized e-cigarette products bear the brand label "ELFBAR". All seized goods lack tax control labels, with a total value exceeding 4 million hryvnias (approximately 100,000 US dollars).
Currently, the case is undergoing a preliminary investigation within the framework of criminal litigation.
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