Yet again: Lithuania arrests large batch of smuggled Belarusian cigarettes worth €2.2 mln
On August 15, a large consignment of Belarusian cigarettes was detected in a MAN trailer truck driven by a Belarusian citizen at the Raigardas-Pryvalka checkpoint, the Lithuanian customs service reports.
In accordance with the documents presented, the truck was supposed to carry wicker baskets, but it also contained tobacco products.
Overnight into Sunday, the driver told Lithuanian customs officers that he intended to transport 13,422 wicker baskets in transit through Lithuania to Italy. However, when the border guards were inspecting the vehicle with the X-ray system, they noticed that only a few wooden pallets were stacked in the back of the semi-trailer; then cases with the inscription NZ Gold were spotted. They were full of Belarusian cigarettes. According to preliminary information, the truck was transporting 1,266 cases (more than 633,000 packs) of cigarettes. Their overall value, including taxes, is about €2.23 mln.
The Belarusian driver was detained for two days; a pre-trial investigation has been launched by the Kaunas branch of the Customs Criminal Service.
This year, Lithuania’s customs service has seized about 12 mln packs of Belarusian cigarettes worth €42 mln. In May, Lithuania announced its intention to tighten control of state borders to prevent the smuggling of contraband cigarettes from Belarus. According to Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security and Defense Laurynas Kasčiūnas, cigarette smuggling is part of ‘Belarusian state policy’.
