Overview
- Customs officers seized more than 30 million additional untaxed cigarettes inside the Kalbe facility, along with several tonnes of tobacco and production materials.
- Authorities say the seized products are likely counterfeit, with the estimated tax loss exceeding €8 million.
- Several individuals were taken into provisional custody in connection with the operation.
- The investigation is being led by the Zollfahndungsamt Hannover on behalf of the Bielefeld public prosecutor's office.
- More than 70 officers, including special units and teams from Bielefeld and Magdeburg customs services as well as Saxony-Anhalt riot police, took part in the factory raid.