Kaunas court convicts three in large-scale cannabis trafficking case

A Kaunas regional court has found three men guilty of trafficking large quantities of cannabis as part of an organised criminal group, prosecutors announced on Tuesday.

The court ruled that the group’s leader, identified as T. V., formed the network in summer 2019 and assigned roles to two accomplices, M. V. and K. J., according to case materials. Their operations included cultivating, transporting, and distributing cannabis across multiple European countries.

In 2019, T. V. organised the illegal cultivation of a large quantity of cannabis in a rented house in Spain, where the group had set up dedicated growing facilities. The cannabis was intended for smuggling to Germany, prosecutors said. In one instance, 26.5 kg of cannabis was concealed in a trailer transporting melons, but Spanish authorities intercepted the shipment and seized the drugs. One suspect, already convicted in another jurisdiction, was driving the trailer, while M. V. accompanied the shipment by car.

Between March and late 2020, the group rented three additional properties to grow, dry, pack, and prepare 58.2 kg of cannabis for transport. The drugs were hidden in a trailer’s semi-trailer unit, again bound for Germany. The shipment, containing 118 packages, was monitored by the group via encrypted communication and accompanied by car, but French law enforcement halted the trailer and confiscated the cannabis.

The court issued final sentences combining previous convictions: T. V. received 13 years and six months in prison, M. V. 12 years, and K. J. faces 10 years. The ruling may be appealed.