(Luxembourg, 18 December 2025) – The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Palermo (Italy) has dealt a blow to the illicit manufacture of smuggled tobacco products.
At the EPPO’s request, the Italian Financial Police (Guardia di Finanza) of Palermo, Rome and Frosinone seized a large-scale industrial plant for the manufacture of cigarettes, equipped with all the necessary machinery to operate two high-capacity production lines, as well as a separate facility used for storing materials and finished products, located in Pomezia and Ferentino. The facilities are valued at over €2 million and have the capacity to produce 4 million cigarettes per day.
Inside the plant, with an area of 4 000 square meters, the police found and seized 27 tonnes of cigarettes, 19 tonnes of tobacco and 134 pallets of materials, including items for packaging cigarette bearing the logos of well-known brands. Four articulated lorries used for transportation were also seized.
Seven individuals of Ukrainian and Bulgarian nationality were referred to the judicial authorities for possession of tobacco smuggling products and trademark counterfeiting.
Locating the facilities proved particularly challenging, due to the measures taken by the suspects to conceal the storage and production sites. The suspects also used jammers and frequency detectors to disrupt communications and avoid detection by the police.
It is estimated that these facilities were able to generate products worth €700 000 per day, or €240 million per year, causing a damage of €160 million in unpaid tax and excise duties.
All persons concerned are presumed innocent until proven guilty in the competent Italian courts of law.
The EPPO is the independent public prosecution office of the European Union. It is responsible for investigating, prosecuting and bringing to judgment crimes against the financial interests of the EU.