Under the procedural guidance of prosecutors from the Ternopil Regional Prosecutor's Office, five individuals have been notified of suspicion. Depending on the actions committed, they are charged with the illegal production, storage, and sale of tobacco products (part 2 of article 28, part 1, part 2 of article 204 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), as well as the legalization of property obtained through criminal means (part 1 of article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

According to the investigation, illegal tobacco cultivation was organized in the village of Chortkiv district, and an underground workshop for its processing was set up. The finished products were sent to clients via delivery services to Kryvyi Rih, Mykolaiv, and Zaporizhzhia.

During the operation, 22 searches were conducted in the territories of Ternopil, Khmelnytskyi, and Dnipropetrovsk regions. Law enforcement seized 1.5 tons of raw and semi-dry tobacco leaves, over 10 tons of shredded raw materials, three industrial machines, mobile phones, a laptop, rough notes, and price lists.

The estimated value of the seized excise goods is about 20 million UAH. The involvement of residents from other regions in the illegal activities is being verified.

The pre-trial investigation is being conducted by investigators of the Main Investigation Department of the National Police in Ternopil region with operational support from the Department of Strategic Investigations of the National Police of Ukraine and the Security Service of Ukraine in the region.

Note: According to article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of committing a crime and cannot be subjected to criminal punishment until their guilt is proven in a lawful manner and established by a court verdict.