RD$10 million worth of fake tobacco cigars have been seized by the District Attorney Department in the National District. The 15,000 cigars were forged by a group of six Cubans who are specialists in this practice, according to a report in Diario Libre. The DA Intellectual Property Department coordinator, Juan Luis Villanueva, said that the network’s operations must be estimated at RD$150 million. The finished cigars were intended for export to Europe and the US. Villanueva reported that the cigar factory operated in Santo Domingo’s Colonial Zone, although the exact location was not disclosed. Counterfeit versions of famous cigar brands such as Cohiba, Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta, H. Oman, Gloria Cubana, Don Diego, and Macanudo were being manufactured at the factory. The group also operates in the US, Puerto Rico and Europe, as well as in the DR.