Sochi bus with caches for 64 thousand packs of cigarettes confiscated by court

The Adler district court of Sochi sentenced a 48-year-old man in the case of illegal movement of a large consignment of tobacco products across the state border. According to the materials of the case, the man tried to import more than 64,000 packs of cigarettes from Abkhazia without customs declaration. The court sentenced him to five years and six months in prison in a general regime correctional colony.

As established during the trial, the convict purchased a large batch of tobacco products in Abkhazia. To transport goods, he used a bus, in the design of which special caches were equipped. It was assumed that the hidden placement of products will avoid its detection during customs control.

However, during the inspection of the vehicle, customs officers found illegally transported cargo. As a result, the entire shipment of cigarettes was seized. The circumstances of the movement of goods and the use of equipped caches became part of the evidence base in the criminal case.

Following consideration of the materials, the court sentenced the man to five and a half years in prison. In addition, it was decided to confiscate the bus used to transport tobacco products. The vehicle is converted into state revenue. Information on the entry into force of the sentence in the initial communication is not given.

The case was one of the examples of the illegal movement of goods across the Russian-Abkhaz border. The use of specially equipped caches does not exempt carriers from liability for violation of customs legislation. The specific consequences of such actions are determined by the circumstances of the case and the court decision.