The Ukrainian authorities have recently uncovered and shut down various underground workshops used for large-scale production of counterfeit food and household chemicals.

In the first instance, the Ukrainian Economic Security Bureau exposed mass production of fake food items in the Kyiv region. While raiding the premises, the authorities seized five automatic production lines, six product packaging lines and 20 packing and labeling machines, along with approximately 200 tons of counterfeit food products. A criminal group used specialized equipment to manufacture and distribute the items, including coffee, spices, cocoa products, instant noodles , waffles and chewing gum, infringing well-known trademarks.

In a separate case, the Ukrainian Police shut down a large-scale production of counterfeit household chemicals in the Odessa region. The infringers manufactured and stored counterfeit goods in rented warehouses and containers and subsequently distributed them across Ukraine. While raiding their premises, the police officials seized EUR 243,000 worth of fake products and nearly EUR 15,300 in different currencies, along with accounting documents, invoices, and computer equipment.

Finally, the Ukrainian Economic Security Bureau exposed the underground production of olive oil and pasta sauces infringing well-known Italian trademarks in the cities of Kyiv and Lviv. The counterfeits were sold through a network of stores across Ukraine. The authorities raided 20 warehouses and outlets in the Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, and Dnipropetrovsk regions and seized over 90 tons of counterfeits andrelated equipment. The seized items are estimated to be worth approximately EUR 182,000.

Sources: Ukraine Alliance Against Counterfeiting and Piracy website, Ukrainian National Police website, National News Agency of Ukraine website