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19 April 2022TrademarksMuireann Bolger

Ukrainian refugees exploited in $20m counterfeit operation

Ukrainian refugees have been ensnared in a counterfeit cigarette plant outside Rome, according to reports by the Italian police.

The authorities raided an abandoned factory producing counterfeit cigarettes on Thursday, April 14, in a development first reported by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).

In one of the largest seizures of its kind in the country, the Guardia di Finanza discovered over 82 tonnes of tobacco and counterfeit cigarette packages with labels of well-known tobacco brands.

Gruelling conditions

The seizure discovered that 44 tonnes of them were already packaged, with 38 tonnes of tobacco still to be processed. It has all been submitted for destruction.

The police confirmed that foreign workers, among them Ukrainian refugees had been forced to work in gruelling conditions in the factory in the industrial zone of Pomezia, just south of the Italian capital.

The sale of these products would have led to tax evasion totalling over €19 million ($21 million), according to investigators.

Local institutions reportedly have made some initial reception facilities available for the workers, among them several refugees from Ukraine, reported infomigrants.net.

A boom in counterfeit cigarettes

The United Nations has warned that refugees from Ukraine are at risk of trafficking and exploitation. Women and children, who account for the majority of people fleeing the Russian invasion, are particularly threatened.

"It is impossible to gauge how many Ukrainian refugee women and children might have been preyed upon by traffickers. So far, known cases are thankfully few," the UN's refugee protection chief Gillian Triggs has said.

According to Italian media reports, Pomezia is known for high volumes of mafia activity, while Italy is facing a surge in the production and smuggling of counterfeit cigarettes.

The OCCRP also reported that in December the Guardia di Finanza intercepted a criminal group trafficking counterfeit cigarettes into Italy valued at 3.5 million euros. The investigation led to 12 arrests and seizures including 16,000 euros in cash, seven vehicles and a speedboat.

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