Customs and TradeNews

56 thousand packets of cigarettes seized

On Wednesday evening, officers of the Criminal Intelligence and Special Purpose Divisions of the Lithuanian Pagėgiai Border Guard of the SBGS arrested a 48-year-old Kaunas resident who was driving a Renault Espace in Kaunas district.

Border guards already had knowledge that a man could be transporting illegal cargo. Cardboard boxes covered with black polyethylene film were found in the car’s interior and 9.5 thousand Minsk Capital QS packets of cigarettes with Belarusian excise duty stamps.

The border guards of Pagėgiai, who continued the investigation, searched the garage in Kaunas the same evening, which was used by the said man. It turned out that this room had been turned into a warehouse for smuggled cigarettes. More than 100 boxes of cigarettes were found here, in total – 56 thousand. 260 packets of Minsk Capital QS and Fest cigarettes. The packages are also marked with Belarusian stamps.

Total cargo in the hands of border guards, 66 thousand. 30 packages, including taxes payable in Lithuania, are worth almost 240 thousand. euros.

A pre-trial investigation has been opened into the illegal disposal of excisable goods. Kaunas resident faces a fine or imprisonment of up to eight years. A decision will be made on Friday to remand a man who smoked cigarettes.

The car and smuggled cigarettes are temporarily stored in the Pagėgiai border team.