Clandestine cigarette factory discovered in an underground bunker in Ancona: record seizure of 300 tons.
The Guardia di Finanza dismantles an underground bunker near Cassino: 300 tons of cigarettes seized, estimated tax evasion of €600 million.
Ancona: Clandestine cigarette factory discovered in an underground bunker, with a record seizure of 300 tons.
Ancona, September 27, 2025 – The Guardia di Finanza has carried out an unprecedented operation, discovering the largest clandestine cigarette factory ever discovered in Italy and among the largest in Europe. The plant, hidden inside a 1.600-square-meter underground bunker, was identified near Cassino, at the end of complex investigations conducted by the military of the Ancona Provincial Command, with the support of the Fiamme Gialle of Frosinone and under the coordination of the Public Prosecutor's Office of Cassino.
The raid led to the seizure of over 300 tons of counterfeit foreign manufactured tobacco (TLE), 170 tons of precursors and packaging materials, with an estimated value of over 53 million euros.
The secret entrance to the bunker
The clandestine factory was hidden beneath a seemingly empty warehouse of over 3.200 square meters, which appeared to be a normal logistics warehouse.
Access to the bunker was only possible via a sophisticated hydraulic device, operated by an electric remote control hidden inside a box. Once the correct sequence of keys is pressed, a aluminum office was lifted, revealing the entrance to an underground complex that mirrors the surface structure.
Inside, the financiers found a real “underground city of smuggling”, equipped with:
- interconnected corridors and tunnels,
- advanced lighting and ventilation systems to eliminate fumes,
- a freight elevator for transporting materials,
- makeshift accommodations with 18 beds, bathrooms, showers and a dining room for the workers,
- a workshop for the maintenance of machinery.
Large-scale industrial production
The bunker housed three tobacco processing and packaging lines, with latest-generation machinery: dryers, humidifiers, filters, packaging machines, labeling machines, boxing and sealing systems.
According to the technical reports, the plant had a extraordinary production capacity:
- about 5.000 cigarettes per minute,
- 7,2 million cigarettes per day,
- maximum 2,7 billion pieces per year,
for an estimated turnover of over 900 million euros per year on the illegal market.
Among the counterfeit brands identified are: Marlboro, Benson & Hedges, Camel, Winston, Mayfair, JPS, L&B and other internationally known brands.
The record seizure
During the operation, the finance police seized:
- 150 tons of cigarettes ready for distribution,
- 170 tons of materials and precursors, including 12 million counterfeit cards, 15 million filters, 20 million laminated sheets, paper rolls and packaging glue,
- 2 cars and 4 articulated trucks loads of counterfeit tobacco,
- the industrial warehouse worth 3,6 million euros,
- machinery and systems estimated at 1,75 million euros.
In total, the commercial value of the seized material exceeds 47 million euro, while the calculated tax evasion (including VAT, customs duties and excise duties) amounts to approximately 600 million euro.
Arrests and complaints
The operation led to a arrest in flagrante delicto and to different ones reports for aggravated smugglingInvestigators are working to reconstruct the criminal network behind the plant, which appears to have international ramifications and links to organizations involved in illicit tobacco trafficking throughout the European Union.
A parallel logistics network
Investigators have also identified other establishments and storage areas in the area, used as support warehouses At the factory. In a nearby yard, garages and trailers used to store counterfeit cigarettes, an integral part of the illegal distribution network, were found.
A very hard blow to smuggling
The Fiamme Gialle have underlined the exceptionality of the result, defining the operation “the largest seizure of foreign manufactured tobacco ever made in Italy and Europe”.
The investigation represents a a very hard blow to the smuggling circuits and confirms the Corps' ability to combat criminal phenomena that damage not only the treasury, but also public health and economic security.
The Guardia di Finanza reiterated that it will continue to monitor the territory with targeted actions to interrupt the smuggling and counterfeiting chains, in a sector that continues to represent one of the main sources of income for international criminal organizations.
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