A Kharkiv resident faces eight years in prison for smuggling cigarettes past the checkout.

A resident of Kharkiv is suspected of attempting theft: according to the police, he tried to steal cigarettes from a supermarket.

“While in one of the city’s supermarkets, the perpetrator took four packs of cigarettes from the shelf and walked past the checkout area with the goods without paying. The total value of the stolen items amounted to 5,000 hryvnias,” — reported the details of the incident from the communications department of the National Police in Kharkiv region.

The police explained that they were contacted by the supermarket security, who detained the shopper at the exit. It turned out that this cigarette enthusiast is a previously convicted Kharkiv resident born in 1968. He has already been informed of the suspicion regarding the theft.

“The penalty for this article provides for imprisonment for up to eight years,” — the police clarified.