21 ARRESTED DURING RAID ON ILLEGAL CIGARETTE FACTORY

BERLIN, SEPTEMBER 22 /SRNA/ - Customs investigators carried out a major raid on an illegal cigarette factory in North Rhine-Westphalia and arrested 21 people at several locations, customs authorities and prosecutors said.

Details about the exact location of the factory were not disclosed.

However, the DPA news agency reported that the factory was located in a warehouse in the city of Haan, near the state capital Düsseldorf in western Germany.

The criminal group operating the factory has been under investigation since May this year.

Investigators said the suspects are accused of tax evasion and trafficking in stolen goods.

According to customs authorities and prosecutors, they produced large quantities of cigarettes and sold them on the black market in packs designed to imitate the packaging of well-known brands.