Illegal tobacco smuggling across the Ukrainian-Romanian border was prevented by the border guards of Chernivtsi Detachment tonight.

A group of young people with bags, heading to the border, were detected by a border detail of Krasnoilsk section, 5 kilometres from the state border. When the men spotted border guards, they decided to escape. They were not stopped even by the warning shots in the air. Checking the area, within the border sector, the response team that arrived in the area found more than 8,500 packs of foreign-made cigarettes. Excise goods boxes were scattered along the route of offenders.

According to preliminary estimates, the cost of detected cigarettes exceeds UAH 300,000.

Measures to identify those involved in the illegal activities are ongoing.