Four men accused of £36m bootleg cigarette and tobacco scam

Four men are to stand trial charged with a £36m bootleg cigarette and tobacco scam.

Damian Rapacki, 36, Michael Zynda, 39, Marek Nadzieja, 31 and Piotr Rapacki, 51, face the allegations with the indictment listing different locations in Scotland, England, Austria and the Netherlands.

They are accused of a charge under the Customs and Excise Management Act.

It is said they acted with others in knowingly “carrying, harbouring, concealing and dealing with goods” where duty had not been paid.

These are described as “counterfeit branded cigarettes” and “hand rolling tobacco”.

Prosecutors claim the four intended to defraud customs of £36m of duty as a result.

The indictment lists a number of other charges against the group.

This includes a claim that they were involved in a serious organised crime.

The accusation features an allegation that a warehouse and storage units – one in Glasgow’s East End – were leased to store and hide the bootleg cigarettes.

Arrangements were also said to be made to ferry the fake goods from mainland Europe.

The four are separately accused of being involved with £2.5m of dirty money.

It is claimed that cash was hidden in a lorry, as well as being put into bank accounts and what is described as “gambling institutions”.

The indictment further states that money was also converted using “service bureaus” in the UK and abroad.

The charges span from 2019 to 2021.

The case called for a hearing at the High Court in Glasgow, where lawyers for the group pleaded not guilty on their behalf.

Lord Arthurson set a trial, scheduled to start in March 2027.

The four, marked as living in different locations in Lanarkshire, remain on bail.