Estonia's second-largest distillery, Liiwi Heliis, has been shut down and stripped of its excise warehouse license after illegal alcohol was traced back to their manufacturing facilities.

Investigator with the Tax and Customs Board Ardi Mitt said that a van carrying 360 concealed bottles of Forss vodka was apprehended in central Estonia, E24 reported. The bottles lacked revenue stamps for strong alcohol.

On the same day, tax officials raided the Liiwi Heliis plant in Viljandi County, which turned up 400 more illegal bottles of Forss.

The distillery also enjoyed notoriety among Estonian beekeepers by importing honey from China - which until recently was banned in the EU - for one-quarter of the domestic buying-up price. Liiwi Heliis sold the honey to retail chains under an Estonian brand name at a 300 percent markup, according to Maaleht.