Made in the EU: how clandestine factories now feed Europe’s illicit trade
From a factory near Verona to southern Spain and the outskirts of Charleroi, the raids of 2026 show how Europe’s illicit market has changed. Counterfeits are increasingly made inside the EU, in clandestine factories run by transnational networks and often staffed by workers from Eastern Europe.
Counterfeit production moves inside the EU
The illicit tobacco trade costs EU and national budgets an estimated €13 billion a year, according to a European Commission figure cited by the European Court of Auditors in September 2026. Illicit products accounted for 8.8% of cigarette consumption in the EU in 2023. The auditors also note that organised crime groups have moved production from Ukraine into EU member states, to shorten supply chains and get closer to consumers.
Lithuanian officials described the same trend to the public broadcaster LRT in July 2026: as the EU tightens its external borders, “criminal gangs are increasingly setting up illegal cigarette factories inside the bloc itself”. Seizures keep rising. French customs alone seized nearly 548 tonnes of tobacco in 2025, up 12% on the previous year.
Italy: three clandestine factories dismantled in six months
On 18 March 2026, the Guardia di Finanza, acting for the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), raided a factory at Castagnaro, near Verona, able to produce 4 million cigarettes a day. Officers seized 25 tonnes of cigarettes, tobacco and precursors. Eleven Bulgarian and Ukrainian nationals were working on site; the two Italian owners were arrested.
On 23 July, a second plant was shut down at Campospinoso Albaredo, near Pavia. It ran two full production lines, behind soundproofing and generators. Twelve Ukrainian and Moldovan workers lived on site. Some 300,000 packs of counterfeit Marlboro and Winston and 13 tonnes of tobacco were seized, worth about €5 million. In September, a third site was found at Bucchianico, near Chieti, with 13 machines already dismantled for transport; eight people were arrested.
Belgium: a production base for the French market
Belgian customs had dismantled eleven illegal factories by early August 2026 and seized 180 million cigarettes since January, according to the Brussels Times. The previous annual record, in 2024, was twelve factories. The JDD reports that 62 clandestine plants have been closed in Belgium since 2019, and that around 60% of the counterfeit cigarettes found in France come from Belgian factories.
In July, a plant at Avelgem, 35 km from Lille, could produce 1.5 million cigarettes a day; 21 Ukrainian, Moldovan and Bulgarian nationals were arrested, the JDD reports. On 6 August, customs raided a site near Charleroi holding 19 tonnes of tobacco and one million cigarettes. “There were 42 beds, so we assume that 42 workers were employed there,” said Florence Angelici of the Belgian Finance Ministry.
The goods cross straight into France. On 30 September 2026, prosecutors in Amiens announced the dismantling of a network importing counterfeit cigarettes from Belgium: twelve people were placed under investigation and 5.9 tonnes of tobacco seized. Around 30 tonnes are thought to have transited during the inquiry, with estimated losses of €20 million.
Spain: six illegal factories dismantled in one operation
On 9 July 2026, the Guardia Civil announced the dismantling of two international criminal organisations after 23 raids in Alicante, Cuenca, Huelva, Murcia, Seville and Toledo. Six illegal factories were closed, with a combined capacity of nearly 8 million cigarettes a day. Fifty people were arrested, and more than 20 million cigarettes and 38.4 tonnes of tobacco were seized, valued at over €10 million.
The operation was supported by Europol, the EU Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and police from Poland, Portugal and Lithuania. According to the Olive Press, both groups were led by Polish nationals; Lithuanian media identified a Lithuanian national as a key organiser. “Every illicit cigarette robs taxpayers and rewards organised crime,” said OLAF Director-General Petr Klement.
Eastern Europe: organisers, factory labour and fake nicotine pouches
Eastern Europe runs through the 2026 cases. Polish and Lithuanian nationals are cited as organisers in Spain, while Bulgarian, Ukrainian and Moldovan workers were found in the plants raided in Italy and Belgium. The model is also spreading to new nicotine products. On 7 August 2026, Lithuanian customs, acting on OLAF intelligence, dismantled a counterfeit nicotine-pouch factory in Kaunas. More than 330,000 boxes bearing well-known brand names were seized, destined for Scandinavia, the Baltic states and the United Arab Emirates.
Inside the clandestine factory
The 2026 raids describe a recurring model: full production lines in disused industrial sites or rural warehouses, soundproofing and generators to avoid detection, and workers housed on site so the plant can run around the clock. Equipment is moved when pressure rises. According to the JDD, a production line costs up to €1 million and pays for itself in about two weeks. The output is mostly counterfeit Marlboro and Winston.
