The tax police of the State Fiscal Service jointly with the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) have revealed illegal wine production in Odesa region organized by a foreigner, Deputy Head of the State Fiscal Service Serhiy Bilan has said.

"During the Excise-2016 operation it was established that a foreigner organized production of alcohol using large-batch equipment without any permits," Bilan wrote on his Facebook page.

The foreigner used own wine materials, presses and reservoirs of 600 and 1,000 liters, bottled wine without excise labels. The person sold wine, including online.

Tax police and SBU officers seized 6,900 bottles of wine of over 4,800 liters, 20,000 liters of wine materials worth over UAH 9 million and equipment to produce alcohol worth UAH 300,000.

Journalist Pavel Sheremet wrote in his blog in the Ukrainska Pravda that the tax police conducted a search in the house of French Christophe Lacarin who resides in Shabo village with his family. The Frenchman has been living in Ukraine for 10 years, he is trying to grow grapes and make own wine.

The journalist wrote that a young couple came to Lacarin who is famous of his hospitality, they tasted wine and the young woman persuaded the Frenchman to sell four bottles to them.

"Cars with masked submachine gunners flew into the house – turmoil, screams. Lacarin and his wife were put against the wall with hands behinds their backs as they usually behave with criminals. "Epic" seizure of an extremely dangerous family!" the journalist wrote.

Sheremet said that Lacarin has been trying to receive a license for wine production for several years, but it was a failure – this business is monopolized by several large groups and it is not developed in the country: 17 or 19 Ukrainian plants have licenses for own wine production, around 50 companies officially sell all types of Ukrainian alcohol and the rest of the producers are outside the law.

"I can remind that only in France there are over 40,000 (!!!) wine producers, and there are even more of them in Spain," Sheremet said.

The journalist said that the case with Lacarin is the second in the recent period: in December the tax police officers came to Yevhen Shneideris, the owner and director of Beykush wine house and arrested his products and equipment.

"Now the tax police are conducting the Excise-2016 operation and they are to report on their success every day. They are afraid of attacking the vodka mafia and large wine players. They take out on enthusiasts and romantics," he wrote.

Sheremet said that several workshops that bottle counterfeit wine in large volumes are operating near Lacarin.

"However, we’ve never heard that the police closed at least one workshop in Shabo. It is dangerous to come to these "winemakers," the journalist said.

The chief department of the State Fiscal Service in Odesa region reported on Saturday that in the past 10 years Lacarin did not submit any application to receive the license. The State Fiscal Service said that the license is issued if the production certificate, the laboratory certificate, documents confirming ownership or leasing rights to premises and equipment and expert conclusions on the assigning of foreign trade codes of the Ukrainian classification are submitted.