Lithuanian authorities have intercepted a shipment of cigarettes bearing Belarusian excise stamps worth nearly 2 million euros. Lithuania’s Customs Criminal Service believes the cigarettes were produced at an illegal tobacco factory in Latvia.
A truck driven by a Ukrainian citizen was stopped near the town of Karmėlava in Lithuania. The driver stated that he was transporting disposable tableware, but customs officers noticed that some of the boxes in the semi-trailer differed from the others. The truck was taken to a customs facility for a detailed inspection.
Customs officers seized 720 boxes of Winston Blue cigarettes (360,000 packs) with a total value of 1.98 million euros. The packs bore Belarusian excise stamps, but Lithuanian customs believes the cigarettes were produced at an illegal factory in Latvia, according to the Lithuanian customs service.
The driver was detained for 48 hours. A pre-trial investigation has been launched.
