Damages Exceeding €9 million Uncovered in Operation Sarisan in Eastern Slovakia

Bratislava/Nizna Jedlova, 1 December (TASR) - The Criminal Office of Financial Administration (KUFS) has uncovered one of the largest illegal cigarette production facilities in eastern Slovakia in the village of Nizna Jedlova in Presov region, head of Financial Administration's (the tax office) communications department Lucia Verchovodkova told TASR on Monday, adding that the facility was producing 3.5 million cigarettes per day. A total of 29 people were detained during Operation Sarisan. The preliminary total damage is estimated at more than €9.2 million. The raid was carried out on 25 November, when, during an inspection of premises and land in the village, KUFS officers seized a large amount of material and over 13 million cigarettes without valid tax stamps of well-known brands. During the inspection, they also seized cardboard boxes containing a brownish-yellow substance with the smell of tobacco, weighing a total of 36 tonnes. In addition to cigarettes and tobacco, they also seized two complete technological lines for tobacco processing and two lines for cigarette production, packaging equipment, other auxiliary machines, documentary evidence, mobile phones, a computer, camera recordings, stamps of various companies, hand-held scanning equipment and several lorries and other vehicles. The investigator has brought charges against nine individuals who are currently in custody. If found guilty, they could face prison sentences of between one and five years. KUFS described the case as one of the biggest in history in terms of the scope of the organised group's activities within the territory in which it operated and concerning the planned destination of the cigarettes. The group was carrying out its criminal activities in several countries. am/df