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A cross-border operation led by Hungary with the support of the European Criminal Police Organization and the European Judicial Organization, and involving law enforcement authorities in Austria, the Czech Republic, and Poland, has successfully dismantled a large-scale tax fraud network involving cigarette smuggling.
An investigation was launched based on intelligence analysis by the European police organization. During a recent operation, law enforcement officers arrested a suspect and seized a large number of valuable items.
In March 2021, the Hungarian Customs and Tax Authority seized nearly 23 million unsealed cigarettes being transported by plane from Dubai to Debrecen Airport in Hungary. The tobacco products were produced in the United Arab Emirates and concealed in car parts being shipped on a cargo plane. Hungarian authorities intercepted the shipment when four trucks with Polish license plates were leaving the airport carrying the goods.
Officials suspect that there were two similar deliveries earlier this year, on January 29th and February 26th of 2021. The criminal group's tax evasion on tobacco products has caused an estimated economic loss of over 8.75 million euros to the EU budget.
On August 16, 2022, law enforcement officials seized various currencies totaling 750,000 euros, seven luxury vehicles, and 49 luxury watches from a Hungarian citizen who was arrested.
The authorities are currently searching for three additional suspects who have been issued European and international arrest warrants.
The European Criminal Police Organisation facilitated information exchange, cross-checking business information with their database, and provided additional analytical support to aid in the investigation process for national law enforcement authorities. Eurojust actively promotes cross-border judicial cooperation among relevant national authorities, including the execution of European Investigation Orders.
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