(Luxembourg, 3 February 2026) – At the request of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Palermo (Italy), the Italian Financial Police (Guardia di Finanza) of Palermo and Padova seized a large-scale industrial plant for the manufacture of cigarettes, as well as 5.5 tonnes of cigarettes and 16 tonnes of tobacco, in the province of Padova.
The cigarette factory was equipped with all the necessary machinery to operate a high-capacity production line, producing up to €2 million cigarettes per day. The estimated value of the site is over €1 million.
In addition to the tonnes of cigarettes and tobacco, officers found inside the 5000 m² industrial site 14 pallets of precursors, including packaging materials bearing logos of well-known tobacco brands, and seized a truck used for the transport of the goods, too.
Upon entry, three Moldovan nationals were found inside the factory and were reported to the national authorities for the crimes of possession of smuggled processed tobacco and trademark counterfeiting.
The discovery follows several months of investigative work. Through months of surveillance, investigators were able to trace the supply chain and identify the production sites, despite the sophisticated counter-surveillance measures used by the suspects.
Had the seized cigarettes reached the market, the estimated loss in evaded VAT and excise duties would have caused losses of over €1.3 million to the national and EU budgets. The illegal factory was capable of generating an illicit profit of €350 000 per day, exceeding €120 million annually, causing an estimated damage to public finances of approximately €80 million.
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.