Police say a gang producing alcohol illegally cheated the state out of CZK 6.7 billion

An alleged “spirts mafia” based in South Moravia cost the Czech state CZK 6.7 billion in unpaid taxes, detectives said on Tuesday. The extent of the suspected tax evasion is unprecedented. The police have concluded their investigation into the matter and handed the 13,000-page file to the Supreme State Attorney in Olomouc. Radek Březina, a Zlín-based businessman, is accused of being behind the production of over 20 million litres of untaxed alcohol from the late 1990s on. He is one of seven people under investigation.