Officers from the Lviv Regional Division of the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) seized 500 boxes of Serbian cigarettes during an inspection of two trucks at the «Yagodin» border crossing. However, official transit documents from the Polish border control show that 3.78 thousand boxes originally entered the country. As a result, over 3.2 thousand boxes of cigarettes—with an estimated market value of at least $1.5 million—effectively vanished during processing by Volyn Customs.
Discrepancies in cargo volume were traced to two specific transport vehicles registered under plate numbers BC7146CT and WE5T607. According to the manifest, the first truck carried 2,030 boxes of cigarettes, while the second transported 1,750. Despite these official records, the SBI’s formal impoundment accounted for only 500 boxes, pointing to the deliberate concealment of the remaining illicit import right at the checkpoint.
«The market value of the cigarette boxes left ‘unnoticed’ during the inspection alone amounts to no less than $1.5 million.»
Reports suggest the scheme involved coordinated efforts between law enforcement, customs officials, and black-market operators. Key figures implicated in overseeing the operation include Yevhen Terletskyi, a Deputy Head of the SBI Division detailed from the central apparatus, and customs employee Dmytro Khomych, who reportedly exerts operational control over Volyn Customs. These officials allegedly acted in the interests of the cargo’s owners—sanctioned businessman Oleksandr Akst, currently imprisoned in Serbia, and his partner Petro Fedashko, who managed the direct logistics of the scheme.
An investigation is underway to establish the full circumstances of the incident and provide a legal assessment of the officials involved in smuggling excisable goods across the Ukrainian border.