An illegal cigarette production workshop was discovered in Kara-Suu district. The press center of the State Committee for National Security of Kyrgyzstan (SCNS) reported.
According to it, the workshop was built in 2022 and operated illegally.
«Equipment (machines) for the production of tobacco products was brought from the UAE; their cost is more than $470,000. Raw materials (tobacco, filters, cigarette paper) and other components for cigarettes were brought from abroad. Produced tobacco products without excise stamps were sold in Kyrgyzstan and smuggled to neighboring republics,» the SCNS reported.
A large amount of materials for making cigarettes was found during a search — tobacco, cigarette paper, labels, foil, tape, filters and others, as well as 97 boxes of cigarettes — more than 48,500 packs of Marlboro, Platinum, Asia, Blue Sky and WT without excise stamps.
Foreign citizen was detained and placed in the pre-trial detention center of the SCNS. Operational and investigative measures are being carried out to identify other persons involved in the illegal production.
