Customs and police shut down cigarette workshop in Avelgem: 21 suspects arrested
During a raid on an abandoned building in Avelgem, police and customs discovered clandestine cigarette production. 21 people were arrested.
Customs and police shut down cigarette workshop in Avelgem: 21 suspects arrested
On Thursday morning, around forty members of the police and customs service moved into a building on Meersstraat in Avelgem. There they discovered an illegal cigarette workshop. The authorities put an end to the operation and seized more than five million ready-made cigarettes. At the same time, a lorry was being unloaded with tobacco leaves that would be processed later.
According to customs spokesman Stefaan Inghelbrecht, the evaded excise duty amounted to two million euros. He discussed the case in Het Nieuwsblad.
During the operation, handcuffs were placed on twenty-one people. The group consists of seventeen Ukrainian men and women, three Bulgarian suspects and one resident of Moldova.
The production facility had been set up in an abandoned, partially collapsed factory hall, concealed in a nature reserve. Inghelbrecht described the location as strategically chosen: "Remote enough to work undetected, but with quick access to the motorway towards abroad." According to Het Nieuwsblad.
Source: Het Nieuwsblad – https://www.nieuwsblad.be/binnenland/politie-doekt-illegale-sigarettenfabriek-op-in-avelgem-21-mensen-opgepakt-5-miljoen-sigaretten-in-beslag-genomen/158172440.html
Source: Nieuwsblad