Lithuania’s State Border Guard Service reported on Thursday that three shipments of smuggled cigarettes from Belarus had been seized. The contraband was confiscated both during patrols and in the course of investigative actions.
On Tuesday, searches were conducted in Nemenčinė near Vilnius. Six people were detained and four vehicles were seized. In total, the cars contained 57,000 packs of cigarettes worth nearly EUR 300,000. Authorities also confiscated EUR 28,710 in cash.
The detainees, aged 34–38, are residents of Vilnius, as well as the Vilnius and Šalčininkai districts. They were placed in detention.
Also on Tuesday, border guards patrolling the Varėna district noticed an Opel Zafira. Inside they found 3,560 packs of smuggled Minsk Capital QS and NZ Gold cigarettes bearing Belarusian excise stamps. The driver and passenger fled the scene but were later located and detained with the help of service dogs.
Last week, a series of searches were carried out near Mažeikiai, where 23,500 packs of cigarettes were seized, including some with Belarusian excise stamps. On Monday, the owner of the company where the searches took place was charged and placed under a travel restriction.
