Employees of the Investigative Service of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia seized an unprecedented amount — 75,137 bottles of alcoholic beverages and 318,000 packs of unmarked cigarettes. Seven individuals involved in the crime have been arrested. This was reported by the Investigative Service of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia.
“The investigation established that the accused had, for many years, operated an illegally functioning alcohol production plant in the Shida Kartli region, where illicit bottling and distribution of various Georgian and foreign branded alcoholic beverages was carried out in a makeshift manner.
As a result of investigative actions, 75,137 bottles of unmarked alcohol prepared for sale were seized, including vodka BELUGA, BELVEDER, GREY GOOSE, and whiskey BORKAN and CHIVAS REGAL.
During the search of the plant, a large quantity of bottles, caps, labels, and packaging materials was also discovered, as well as approximately 24 tons of alcoholic liquid stored in tanks, which was used for the production of the aforementioned counterfeit beverages.
In addition, from one of the warehouses located on the premises of the plant, 318,000 packs of unmarked KARELIA cigarettes were seized. Equipment intended for packaging and producing cigarettes was also confiscated.
The preliminary value of the seized unmarked alcohol and cigarettes may amount to tens of millions, which will be finally determined by the relevant examination.
We continue to carry out investigative and operational measures to identify other individuals involved in the organized criminal activity.
The investigation is being conducted under Part 3 of Article 196 and Part 4 of Article 200 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which provides for imprisonment for a term of 7 to 10 years,” the statement reads.