Poland is the EU leader in detecting and combating tobacco-related crimes. From 2018 to 2022, a total of 299 illegal cigarette factories were discovered in the EU, with Polish authorities uncovering nearly half (46 percent) of them. The smuggling of cigarettes and other tobacco products from the East to our country has also been decreasing for the past eight years. According to the latest report by consulting firm KPMG, the tobacco black market in Poland is currently at a record low, standing at 4.2 percent. This is almost half the EU average (8.2 percent). Last year, 35.8 billion illegal cigarettes were consumed in the EU.

On the other hand, Polish officials are observing a different trend – tobacco mafias are increasingly establishing illegal cigarette factories within EU member states, including Poland, which eliminates the need to smuggle them across the external border of the Union.

"It is worth noting that these groups are highly professionalized," Lt. Anna Michalska, spokesperson for the Chief Commander of the Border Guard, said. 

"They are not just smugglers who transport goods, so-called 'ants,' but entire groups equipped with sophisticated equipment. These include, for example, phototraps, optoelectronic equipment, or, as in the case of a group eliminated by the officers of the Nadbużański Unit of the Border Guard, cross motorcycles, quads, and off-road vehicles," she added.

(Newseria)