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The investigation is controlled by the prosecutor of the Second Prosecution Division of the Panevėžys Regional Prosecutor’s Office.
The pre-trial search, which uncovered a prepackage “factory” and seized an impressive number of potentially illegally traded chemical mixtures and other counterfeits with a market value estimated by experts at around 2 million euros.
FNTT officials suspect that a group of individuals operating in the Šiauliai, Panevėžys and Klaipėda regions illegally traded counterfeit plant protection products imported from China, Russia, Ukraine and Poland. The illegal trade in counterfeit chemicals is suspected to have been organized by agronomists with previous links to agricultural companies and trade in plant protection products.
VIDEO: The FNTT located the illegal traffickers: chemical mixtures were found for more than 2 million tons. euros
The counterfeit chemicals are suspected of being sold in the shadows under the guise of legal entities allegedly represented by merchants. According to available data, the illegal goods may have been paid for in cash, including by issuing fictitious invoices, which were not subsequently recorded in the accounts of the companies officially represented by the sellers. Fake invoices generally refer to a fictitious payment basis, such as payment for a legal product supposedly sold or the advice of a specialist. Some of the illegal products may also have been sold individually by individuals without a permit for economic and commercial activities.
FNTT nuotr./Krata
According to the pre-trial investigation, sellers of counterfeit products contacted potential customers underground, used various mobile chat apps, and illegally sold the products only to trusted customers: farmers, agricultural cooperatives, agricultural companies, and other business persons. Those who organized the shadow trade are believed to have bought counterfeit goods in large quantities, then repackaged them into smaller containers, labeled the goods and sold them to customers. To hide them, the illegal products were also marked with contract marks, the corresponding numbers.
In the ongoing pre-trial investigation, searches were carried out in 5 cities at the residences of the alleged perpetrators, at the companies under their control and at the storage premises.
According to the preliminary assessment of the Lithuanian Plant Protection Association, the value of already packaged and labeled plant protection products found during searches, calculated according to the market price of original products, can reach more than 200 thousand. euros. Evaluated in conjunction with unclear chemical mixtures packaged in bags labeled with kitty litter and bags of fertilizers, the market value of seized counterfeits can reach approximately 2 million. euros. The active substances in most packaged products belong to the group of sulfonylureas, which are herbicides with a particularly low application rate. The specialists calculated that if the measurements were used at 25 grams per 1 hectare, then the amount found in the bags only during the search would be enough for 163 thousand. hectares.
FNTT nuotr./Krata
According to the data available to the Lithuanian Plant Protection Association, illegal counterfeits enter the Lithuanian market through falsification of transported documents or smuggling from Ukraine via Poland or Russia and Latvia. Some experts equate the profitability of the trade in counterfeit plant protection products with the profits of illicit activities such as trafficking in drugs, arms or human beings. These crimes are severely punished and the trade in counterfeit plant protection products continues to flourish alongside fair farming.
It is estimated that illegal phytosanitary products can be sold in Lithuania for approximately LTL 40 million per year. euros.
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