After a year-long international investigation, thirteen people were arrested in France and 50 tonnes of tobacco, with an estimated value of 13 million euros, were seized. A look back at the details of this major operation.
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13 people were arrested in France and 50 tonnes of tobacco, with a resale value of 13 million euros, were seized following an international investigation launched more than a year ago.
In January 2023, information from the Polish authorities allowed France to question “nine people” – five Moldovan operators, two supervisors and two Greek truck drivers – “during the discovery of a cigarette manufacturing factory” in Normandy, explained the gendarmes.
Located in the suburbs of Rouen, this illegal installation produced counterfeit cigarettes on a large scale. During this intervention, nine people were arrested, including five Moldovan operators, two supervisors, and two Greek truck drivers.
The largest clandestine cigarette factory discovered near Rouen (Seine-Maritime).
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© France Télévisions
The gendarmes had seized more than 100 tonnes of products linked to the manufacturing of cigarettes, including 55 tonnes of cigarettes, 50 tonnes of materials (labels, filters, packaging, etc.) and 18 tonnes of waste.
This affair, involving transnational criminal networks, mobilized several European countries. In parallel with the arrests in Normandy, searches carried out in the Netherlands and Belgium made it possible to discover other elements necessary for the manufacture of counterfeit cigarettes.
The complexity of the case led the National Jurisdiction for the Fight against Organized Crime (Junalco) to entrust the investigations to several specialized services: the Central Office for the Fight against Traveling Delinquency (OCLDI), the National Anti-Fraud Office (ONAF), as well as the research section and the interministerial research group in Rouen.
In November 2024, the investigation accelerated with a simultaneous legal operation in Greece, Germany and Bulgaria, leading to the arrest of seven individuals, including three key figures in the network.
On November 20, four other suspects were apprehended in France. In all, thirteen people were involved on national territory, and 50 tonnes of tobacco with an estimated value of 13 million euros were seized.
This operation once again demonstrates the essential cooperation between European authorities to combat cross-border criminal networks.
