Independent Online World News (South Africa)
October 7, 2004

Ryazan — Police in Russia on Thursday destroyed their largest-ever seizure of fake brand-name cigarettes, which had been earmarked for illegal sale in Western Europe.

A total of 40 million cigarettes worth up to $5-million (almost R35-million) abroad were crushed with bulldozers and ploughed into the ground near the town of Ryazan, southeast of the capital.

"A large amount of the cigarettes was to be smuggled to Germany, Britain and Italy where black-market profits are three times higher," said police spokesperson Alexander Vorobyov.

A gang of 12 people had made and packed the fake brands at night at a tobacco factory in Ryazan.