Lithuania Closes Another Channel For Cigarette Smuggling From Belarus
- 2.09.2024, 12:17
The contraband was transported in wagons with crushed stone.
The SkaMuitinės (MKT) criminal service has launched two pre-trial investigations into the seizure of cigarette contraband on August 28 at the Kena railway station.
Customs and border guards, having checked the train with an X-ray inspection system, found contraband cigarettes worth about 57 thousand euros in three wagons. These wagons were used to transport crushed stone in transit through Lithuania to the Kaliningrad region of Russia, writes DELFI.
“On Wednesday, August 26, at about 13:00, employees of the Vilnius Territorial Customs conducted a detailed inspection of freight wagons of a train coming from Belarus. During the inspection, contraband cigarettes were found in two carriages transiting through Lithuania to the Kaliningrad region of Russia,” the customs service reported.
As is customary these days, cigarette packs are packed in huge narrow bags that look like suitcases, wrapped in a layer of polyethylene, leaned against the walls of metal carriages and covered with crushed stone. The bags were tied with ropes and handles were made so that the bags could be pulled out from under the sand more easily and quickly. A total of 8,820 packs of Belarusian Fest cigarettes were found in both carriages, MKT reports.
Another batch of contraband was discovered on the same day — by customs officers at 9 pm, after checking another train that arrived from Belarus, also with granite crushed stone. Similarly packaged and hidden cigarettes were also found in one of the train carriages — 4,050 packs of NZ Gold cigarettes. In total, on that day, customs officers detained 12,870 packs of cigarettes, the value of which, including taxes, is 57,785 euros.
The Vilnius branch of the MKT has launched two pre-trial investigations into smuggling, which are being conducted by prosecutors from the Vilnius District Prosecutor's Office. This year, MKT employees have already launched 19 pre-trial investigations into the transportation of contraband by rail. During these investigations, more than 177 thousand packs of illegal Belarusian cigarettes were detained, the value of which (including taxes) is 769 thousand euros.