Greek police on Saturday said they had cracked one of the country's leading tobacco smuggling organisations, raiding a factory capable of producing over a billion cigarettes a year.

Nearly 40 people were arrested during the operation in over 20 locations across the capital and near Athens earlier this week, the police said in a statement. 

Eight more people are sought in connection with the case.

The bust yielded a haul of nearly 92 million cigarettes, over 112 kilos of processed and unprocessed tobacco and 75 million cigarette pack labels.

A fleet of over 40 trucks, haulers and trailer trucks was also seized, most of them carrying Bulgarian number plates.

Lost tax revenue from the activities of the network, which was active since 2016, are estimated at around 20 million euros ($24 million), the police said.