During the court-sanctioned search in the house of one of the defendants, the investigators of the Transcarpathian police, together with the employees of the Office of Strategic Investigations, discovered an underground workshop for the production of counterfeit alcoholic beverages. According to the results, surrogate products worth more than 730 thousand hryvnias have been withdrawn.

Investigators of the Transcarpathian Police Department for the Investigation of Particularly Serious Crimes, together with the operatives of the Regional Office of Strategic Investigations, stopped the illegal activities of a group of intruders, which included three men who specialized in the manufacture of counterfeit alcohol.

During the operational measures, the police established that at the place of residence of one of the defendants, the men equipped a mini-workshop for the manufacture of counterfeit. The attackers used poor-quality raw materials, poured it into containers with labels of famous trade brands, pasted fake excise stamps on the finished product, and then sold the surrogate in the region.

The police have already conducted authorized searches at the place of residence of the defendants, from where they seized a number of physical evidence indicating the involvement of men in a criminal offense. In particular, half a ton of liquid with a sharp smell of alcohol, a glass container with pasted labels, a batch of ready-to-sell products, almost 150 thousand labels and “rough” records regarding the sale of counterfeit. In total, the market value of the withdrawn products is more than 730 thousand hryvnias. All material evidence will be directed for expert research.

Criminal proceedings initiated under Part 1 of Article 204 (Illegal manufacture, storage, sale or transportation for the purpose of sale of excisable goods) and Part 1 of Article 199 (Manufacture, storage, acquisition, transportation, shipment, importation into Ukraine for use in the sale of goods, sale or sale of counterfeit goods state securities, state lottery tickets, excise tax stamps or holographic protective elements) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The sanction of the article provides for a maximum penalty of up to seven years in prison. Operators take measures to establish the source of supply of raw materials. Investigative actions continue.

Police Communication Department of Zakarpattia Oblast