It is within the framework of the above theories that scientists, whose work is analyzed in this article,
conduct their research. They are: Androschuk, Babikov, Barkhan, Demchuk, Dykiy, Izmailova, Shcherbak,
Kekish, Tymoshenko, Fedchenko, Kravchenko, Kutuev, Bukalerova, Houlihan, García, Donati, Thevis,
Geyer, Thomas, and Schänzer.
Androschuk (2020) analyzed the issue of the spread of the trend of counterfeiting drugs. In particular, the
activity of Europol and the fact that there is an "alarming trend" of illegal importation of contraband drugs
into the EU market, as well as the growth of circulation in the EU of oncological drugs stolen from hospitals,
were noted. Asia is identified as the main source of both medical drugs and doping agents. Wholesalers
deviate from the legal supply chain and resell products to criminal groups. Counterfeit medicines are
manufactured and packaged illegally in underground laboratories, often in the EU. Thus, arrests were made
in Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Ukraine and Great
Britain. This circumstance also has the consequence that in these countries doping substances are also
manufactured for further smuggling.
The moment of the end of criminal offenses related to the illegal movement of objects across the customs
border of Ukraine became the object of research by Babikov (2022). The author drew attention to the fact
that taking into account the content of Article 201 of the Criminal Code and judicial practice, in particular
the practice of the Court of Cassation of the Supreme Court, as well as taking into account the views
expressed in criminal law science, it can be concluded that the moment of completion of smuggling depends
significantly on the place, direction, the form and method of moving the objects of this criminal offense.
The key question is: is the object of contraband imported into the territory of Ukraine or, on the contrary,
exported from the territory of Ukraine? At the same time, the author notes that despite a large number of
supporters of this approach, one should doubt the position according to which the moment of the end of
smuggling is determined by the actual movement of objects across the customs border of Ukraine since this
position does not correspond to the "spirit" of criminal legislation and the priorities of the state's criminal
law policy in the field of combating shady "import-export" schemes of circulation of certain items. Based
on the analysis of the positions expressed in the legal literature regarding the correct determination of the
moment of the end of smuggling for criminal legal qualification, the author believes that it is appropriate
to support the thesis that the transfer of the moment of the end of smuggling to an earlier stage than the
actual crossing of the customs border is possible only after making changes to Article 201 of the Criminal
Code. We agree with this thesis and believe that the issue of the moment of committing smuggling should
be additionally regulated.
Ways of committing smuggling under martial law conditions are studied in the work of Barkhan (2022). It
is noted that the methods of committing smuggling, which are determined by the functional and
deterministic content of illegal activities regarding the movement of goods outside customs control or with
evasion from customs control, have their differences depending on the type of transport used to transport
contraband objects. The temporary introduction of a legal regime of martial law in Ukraine in the context
of the escalation of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation led to the emergence of a new way of
evading customs control of smuggling, in particular by transporting goods across the customs border of
Ukraine under the guise of humanitarian aid. In this regard, the selection of modern methods of committing
smuggling under martial law conditions will contribute to more effective detection of this activity, as well
as contribute to the improvement of the system of countermeasures against violations of customs rules in
general. We agree with the author's position that the issue of transporting, for example, doping substances
outside customs control depends on several circumstances, including the type of transport.
Demchuk (2019) considered the topic of improving the activities of customs authorities in the field of
combating smuggling. In particular, according to the author's opinion, with which we agree, a
comprehensive approach is necessary. Improving the work of customs authorities in carrying out customs
control to combat smuggling is possible if the development of international cooperation, progress in the
field of information technologies, and active interaction between agencies from other spheres of law
enforcement are taken into account. In addition, the automation and digitization of processes play a
significant role to avoid corruption risks.
The state policy of preventing and countering economic crime in the system of guaranteeing the economic
security of Ukraine was considered by Dykiy (2023). Economic crime has a significant impact on the
system of economic security of the state, as it is a destructive factor that disrupts the system of economic