Hetmantsev: A small batch of Yabko phones from a large smuggling flow was detained at the border

This was reported by Lviv Customs.

At the "Nyzhankovychi - Malhowice" checkpoint, customs officers stopped a Renault Trafic minibus arriving from Poland.

The 37-year-old driver from the Sambir area, hoping for luck, chose the "green corridor" lane. However, during a detailed inspection, customs officers, together with border guards, discovered a specially equipped hiding place under the floor of the bus.

Inside, 829 units of Apple equipment were hidden.

- 501 Apple phones (mostly top models iPhone 17 Pro, 16 Pro Max, and 15 Pro Max);

- 211 AirPods earphones;

- 117 Apple Watch smartwatches.

The estimated value of the confiscated goods is 35.5 million hryvnias. Currently, the equipment and the vehicle have been seized pending a court decision.

On this incident, the head of the Verkhovna Rada Financial Committee, Danylo Hetmantsev, reacted.

"These are ’Yabko’ phones. A small batch from a massive smuggling flow. Not a single phone has been purchased by this group (I can’t call this network, fragmented into individual entrepreneurs, a company) from an official distributor," noted the people’s deputy.

Hetmantsev also emphasized that law enforcement agencies have been unable to answer for two years where the goods in the network come from if they are not officially purchased.

Law enforcement officers drew up a protocol on the violation of customs rules under Part 1 of Article 483 (Movement of goods across the customs border of Ukraine with concealment from customs control) of the Customs Code of Ukraine.