On the evening of 16 November, Lithuanian border guards detained two men who were planning to collect a shipment of smuggled cigarettes.
Border guards found 16 packages of cigarettes in a forest in the Švenčionys district. Fresh footprints near the packages led deeper into Lithuania. A service dog picked up the trail, and officers soon caught up with two men aged 31 and 57.
One of them was carrying a backpack with black bags and a rope. Both admitted they had come to collect the cigarettes but walked away after hearing an approaching border-guard vehicle.
The packages contained 1,440 packs of cigarettes with Belarusian excise stamps. Their value is estimated at almost €7,500, the Lithuanian Border Guard Service reported.
The detained men face fines for transporting cigarettes and violating border-control regulations.
Also today, Lithuanian border guards and police carried out a large-scale operation against smugglers. Several people were detained. A total of 30 searches were conducted, during which cigarettes, weapons, ammunition, and drugs were seized.
