Bangladesh, Dec. 19 -- European prosecutors, working in close coordination with Italian law enforcement authorities, have dismantled a large-scale illegal cigarette manufacturing operation in Italy, dealing a significant blow to organized crime networks involved in tobacco smuggling across the European Union. The European Public Prosecutors Office (EPPO) confirmed on December 18 that it had ordered the seizure of an industrial tobacco factory valued at more than €2 million ($2.3 million), alongside vast quantities of illicit tobacco products and counterfeit materials.

The operation uncovered a highly sophisticated and industrialized production facility capable of manufacturing millions of counterfeit cigarettes per day. According t...