Another blow to the tobacco gang. 19 tons of smuggled tobacco

Police officers seized over 19 tons of smuggled tobacco near Pabianice. He was probably sent to one of the illegal factories. This is another large seizure of contraband by the Criminal Department of the Police Headquarters in Łódź. Three days ago, the prosecutor's office submitted an indictment to the court regarding the smuggling of 1,000 tons of tobacco.

The interception of the transport of smuggled tobacco was announced on Friday by Junior Asp. Mateusz Piliński from the Provincial Police Headquarters in Łódź. According to information from the press officer, police officers from the Department for Combating Economic Crime of the Police Headquarters in Łódź seized over 19 tons of tobacco, the loss of which to the State Treasury on taxes is estimated at over PLN 22 million.

– We detained two men, aged 40 and 42. At the District Prosecutor's Office in Łask, both were charged with tax fraud, Piliński told PAP.

Police officers from the Police Headquarters in Łódź obtained information about a warehouse of one of the criminal groups dealing in tobacco, which operates in a village near Pabianice. When they arrived, they found several delivery vehicles parked in an unfenced property. While checking one of them, they noticed a strong, characteristic smell of tobacco. Suspecting that the parked vehicles were used as a warehouse, the police opened all vehicles on the property.

– We found cardboard boxes filled with dried tobacco inside three delivery vehicles. In total, we seized 99 large-sized cartons of dried tobacco leaves, weighing over 19 tons in total, Piliński told PAP.

Police officers from the Department for Combating Economic Crime of the Police Headquarters in Łódź seized the contraband, where the reduction in public law liabilities to the detriment of the State Treasury could amount to over PLN 22 million. Two men, aged 40 and 42, were detained. They have already heard the accusations, they will answer… pic.twitter.com/ZKFvPQajby

— Łódź Police (@policja_lodzka) February 13, 2026

The prosecutor from the District Prosecutor's Office in Łask who conducted the investigation in this case estimated that the reduction in tax receivables of the State Treasury exceeded PLN 22 million.

This is another large seizure of tobacco contraband by criminals from the Police Headquarters in Łódź. Just three days ago (February 10), the District Prosecutor's Office in Łódź filed an indictment against a criminal group that smuggled almost 1,000 tons of tobacco into Poland and, apart from running its own clandestine tobacco factories, supplied other criminal groups.

In this case, 11 people were accused, and the losses to the State Treasury are estimated at PLN 632 million. The police do not reveal whether the new investigation has any connection with the previous case or whether the detained are members of another gang of smugglers and tobacco dealers operating in the Łódź region. (PAP)

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