Пункт пропуска "Бобровники-Берестовица". Фото: podlaski.strazgraniczna.pl
A trial is underway at the District Court in Białystok involving nine defendants accused of large-scale cigarette smuggling and corruption. Eight of the accused are former customs officers from Bobrowniki. They were dismissed after the investigation began, Kurier Poranny reported.
According to the prosecution, the group operated from November 2018 to April 2020 in the Podlaskie and Mazowieckie voivodeships. The participants distributed Belarusian cigarettes that had been illegally transported through the road border crossing in Bobrowniki.
During that period, around 29.4 million packs of cigarettes entered circulation. The damage to the state from unpaid excise duties, customs duties and VAT is estimated at no less than 498 million zlotys (about $137 million).
Prosecutors say the former customs officers failed to perform their duties and allowed vehicles carrying cigarettes to pass through the border. The total amount of bribes is estimated at 4.9 million zlotys (about $1.4 million). During the investigation, assets worth around 3 million zlotys (about $828,000) belonging to the defendants were seized.
At the first court hearing in March, all defendants sought to accept punishment voluntarily, but an agreement with prosecutors was reached only with one individual. The others agreed to the main penalty but not to compensation for financial damages.
The defendants face up to 10 years in prison and fines.