A very large factory of counterfeit cigarettes was dismantled this week near Rouen by the gendarmerie who seized more than 100 tons of products, announced the national gendarmerie this Sunday, January 15.
The traffic was brought to light by information transmitted at the end of 2022 via Europol to the Rouen research section, which reported international cigarette trafficking in a warehouse in an industrial zone in Saint-Aubin-les-Elbeuf. , near Rouen.
More than 100 tons of product
On site, the investigators discovered rotations of trucks loading and unloading boxes and bulky pallets. On January 12, when two 38-ton trucks arrived on the scene, around sixty gendarmes invaded the factory. Nine people, all of foreign nationality, aged 21 to 55, were arrested and placed in police custody. The majority of these people are of Moldovan nationality.
More than 100 tons of products (55 tons of cigarettes, 50 tons of labels, paper filters, packaging, and 18 tons of tobacco residues and cigarette waste) are seized, the resale price of counterfeit tobacco seized being estimated at 13 .7 million euros.
One out of 4 cigarettes sold black in France: diving into the heart of an exploding traffic
On the spot, the investigators discover a real cigarette factory with a production unit comprising two lines, one for making cigarettes from raw tobacco, another dedicated to packaging in packets, then in cartridges in the name of a well-known manufacturer. . In addition to this plant, a living area with beds, a kitchen area, a dining area and a relaxation area.
All of the products seized were immediately destroyed, as were the production machines, the gendarmerie said.
Tractors and semi-trailers
The gendarmes also seized two road sets (38-ton tractors and semi-trailers), elevators, pallet trucks, tools, household appliances and a ton of foodstuffs which were donated to the food bank.
In view of the scope of this case, the Rouen public prosecutor’s office has withdrawn in favor of the Junalco (national jurisdiction for the fight against organized crime) of Paris, which has requested in particular the Central Office for the Fight against Itinerant Delinquency (OCLDI) and the judicial investigation department of Finance (SEJF).
The nine people arrested were presented Saturday afternoon to the Paris prosecutor’s office for the opening of a judicial investigation.
