New developments emerge in major illegal cigarette trafficking case
Nearly two years into the investigation of a large illegal cigarette distribution network, several parallel criminal cases have emerged, including charges against a lawyer accused of trying to pressure a witness into silence. An investigator told the court that several people involved had been afraid to speak.
Almost two years after police uncovered a large-scale illegal cigarette distribution network, the case continues to work its way through the courts. Some of the people involved are already standing trial, while others are still awaiting their day in court. Over the course of the original investigation, several parallel criminal cases have branched off and are now being heard separately.
In one of these related cases, charges have been brought against a lawyer who is also a former police employee. She is accused of attempting to influence one of the defendants in the cigarette smuggling case so that he would refuse to testify during the investigation or in court.
This week, the investigator handling the main cigarette smuggling case told the court that several people connected to the case had been afraid to speak and give testimony about what had happened. The new details were reported by the LTV programme "De facto".
It is not yet publicly known exactly how many parallel cases have grown out of the original investigation, nor when either the main smuggling case or its offshoots might conclude. Proceedings are continuing simultaneously in several courts, and the revelation of an attempt to intimidate a witness suggests the full scope of the case has not yet come to light.
