Members of the criminal group partially replaced the goods—officially declared as a shipment of strawberries transported on 26 pallets in 460 cardboard boxes—with cigarettes of a supposedly Moldovan brand, which were allegedly counterfeited in Ukraine. After Ukrainian authorities discovered the shipment as it was leaving the country for Moldova and seized the goods, law enforcement officers conducted 14 searches in northern Moldova.
As a result of the searches, mobile phones, computer equipment, and other physical evidence related to the criminal case were seized from four individuals aged 31 to 45.
Criminal prosecution and special investigative measures are ongoing to establish all the circumstances of the case and identify all individuals involved in this smuggling scheme.
