Apple equipment worth 35 million hryvnias: a large-scale smuggling operation was uncovered in Ukraine
At the “Nyžankovichi – Malkhovice” checkpoint, customs officers discovered a minibus with hidden Apple equipment. The estimated value of the seized goods exceeds 35 million hryvnias, the vehicle and the products have been confiscated.
This was reported by the State Customs Service of Ukraine.
It is noted that on January 16, at about 23:30, a Renault Trafic minibus arrived at the “Nyzhankovichi – Malkhovice” checkpoint from Poland. A 37-year-old resident of the Sambir district was driving. To pass customs control, the driver chose the “green corridor” lane, intended for goods that are not subject to mandatory declaration.
During an in-depth inspection, customs officers discovered a specially equipped storage facility in the structural cavities of the vehicle. Under the floor of the minibus were 829 units of Apple equipment.
The seized goods include 501 Apple phones, mostly iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max models. Customs officers also found 211 AirPods headphones and 117 Apple Watch smartwatches. The estimated value of the entire shipment is 35.5 million hryvnias.
A report on violation of customs rules under Part 1 of Article 483 of the Customs Code of Ukraine, concerning the movement of goods across the customs border of Ukraine while hiding from customs control, was drawn up on this fact. The hidden goods and the vehicle were seized pending a court decision.
In addition, a report on an event that has signs of a criminal offense under Article 201³ of the Criminal Code of Ukraine was sent to the Territorial Department of the Bureau of Economic Security in the Lviv region.
“A car stuffed with apples was discovered by customs officers on the night of January 16. According to a preliminary estimate, there were 35 million hryvnias worth of smuggled goods in it,” said People’s Deputy Danylo Hetmantsev.
He noted that this equipment was intended for the Yabko company.
“A tiny batch from a large smuggling flow,” added Hetmantsev.
He also reported that, according to him, law enforcement agencies have been unable to establish the sources of origin of such goods for two years.
“Yabko” is a Ukrainian chain of Apple technology and accessory stores, which has dozens (over 100) retail outlets in various cities of Ukraine and offers smartphones, tablets, laptops, smartwatches and other electronic products under the Apple brand, as well as accessories for them.
According to some sources, the network shows significant sales volumes and claims legal imports and tax payments, including customs payments when importing equipment, and also has a planned turnover of billions of hryvnias.
At the same time, Yabko and its related structures have repeatedly come to the attention of law enforcement agencies and journalistic investigations into electronics smuggling and tax evasion through a network of individual entrepreneurs (IEOs), although the company has in some cases publicly denied violations.
We will remind you that in the Lviv region, border guards stopped a large-scale attempt to illegally import equipment from Europe . Among the seized items were not only washing machines and electric stoves, but also brand new iPhone 17s. The total value of the contraband is about 8 million hryvnias.
Earlier, Ukrainian and Moldovan law enforcement officers conducted a joint special operation, during which they eliminated a smuggling channel for the supply of the psychotropic substance Alpha-PVP to Moldova . Law enforcement officers detained members of an organized group and seized 12 kilograms of drugs.
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