SLOVENIA UNCOVERS ILLEGAL CIGARETTE FACTORY, IDENTIFIES 34 HUMAN TRAFFICKING VICTIMS

LJUBLJANA, OCTOBER 16 /SRNA/ – At least 34 foreign workers - 33 Paraguayan nationals and one Bulgarian - were forced to work in inhumane conditions at one of Europe's largest illegal cigarette factories, uncovered in Slovenia's Pomurje region, and have been recognized as victims of human trafficking.

Slovenian investigators suspect two Slovenian nationals from the Maribor area of involvement in an international criminal group, along with unidentified accomplices. One was arrested and released after questioning, while the other is being sought by police.

The workers arrived in Europe in early September and were transported from Zagreb to an industrial facility in the Lendava area.

Their mobile phones were confiscated, and they were housed in rooms without adequate ventilation or daylight inside a facility enclosed by a double fence and under video surveillance. They were also forbidden from going outside.

According to their statements, they worked 12 hours a day and often experienced dizziness due to exposure to tobacco and chemicals. The lack of natural light made it impossible for them to distinguish day from night.

A man who brought them food also gave them instructions and verbally abused them. The meals were sometimes insufficient.

Police suspect the group was not the first to work at the facility, Slovenian media reported.

Dušan Pečnik of Slovenia's Financial Administration said the factory was equipped with modern machinery for processing tobacco, manufacturing cigarettes and packaging the finished products.

During the search, authorities found nearly 14 million cigarettes, 44 tons of tobacco and a large quantity of tobacco waste that could be reused in production.

Police also stopped a truck carrying an additional 14 million cigarettes and discovered a warehouse storing raw materials in the Celje area.

The estimated amount of unpaid excise duties exceeds EUR 9.8 million. Of that amount, EUR 2.1 million relates to cigarettes found at the factory, EUR 5.6 million to tobacco and a further EUR 2.1 million to cigarettes found in the truck. These figures do not include value-added tax /VAT/.

The identified victims of human trafficking have been provided with accommodation, food, psychological and legal assistance, as well as support in returning home.