19 remanded in the case of identified illegal cigarettes factories

All 19 people who were detained after five illegal factories for production of cigarettes in the country have been identified, will remain in custody.

That was decided by Plovdiv Regional Court late last night, 27^th of August, in a sitting which went on for more than 5 hours. So far, 9 volumes of evidence have been collected on the case.

After the night of 23^rd of August, a total of 23 people were accused, with four of them still being wanted. More than 42 tonnes of tobacco were seized in the workshops to the value of nearly BGN 7 million. The five illegal factories produced a total of 500,000 cigarettes a day.

Most of the 19 people in the courtroom were workers and drivers in the exceptionally modern factories. Two of the owners are among the detained. All will be charged of keeping and selling excise goods without excise labels. Most likely they will be prosecuted for an organized criminal group, the prosecutor said.

The scheme was revelaed after a money laundering investigation of two Bulgarians from Plovdiv whose income did not match their standard of living. They both remain in custody. Plovdiv District Court's decision is not final and can be appealed within three days.