The place smelled strongly of hookah.
A group of customs inspectors raided and found over 800 kilos of tobacco.
– We caught the suspects in the act, says Fredrik Leijerholt, head of unit at the Customs Department’s criminal department.
Information from the Swedish Customs Service’s intelligence department indicated that there was illegal manufacture of hookah tobacco in a property in Åmotfors, Värmland, writes the Swedish Customs Service in a press release.
On March 12, a group of customs inspectors therefore went to the property, where three men were seen moving cartons to a car, where they found 197 kilos of prepackaged hookah tobacco.
Inside the building, customs later found machines for the production of hookah tobacco, packaging materials, labels, as well as another 258 kilos of finished hookah tobacco and 98 kilos of raw tobacco.
Secret hatch
– We caught the suspects in the act when they loaded hookah tobacco into a car outside the property. This is a form of organized crime that turns over a lot of money, says Fredrik Leijerholt, in the press release.
– During another search of the property in Åmotfors, we discovered a specially built hatch to an attic space. There and in other places in the building more than 250 kilos of tobacco were found. In total, this is over 800 kilos of tobacco. It is incredibly important that we can actively work to eliminate the groups that engage in this crime, continues Fredrik Leijerholt.
Can be sentenced to four years in prison
Now two men and a woman are indicted, suspected of gross illegal possession of goods subject to excise duty. If convicted, they face up to four years in prison.
– The taxes withheld by the suspects amount to over two million kroner, just for the seized tobacco. There are large sums that the state is missing out on. In this case, we have collaborated between our operational departments and I am proud of all the employees who together managed to discover this business, concludes Fredrik Leijerholt.