Lithuanian border guards seize 34,000 packs of smuggled cigarettes in Lazdijai and Vilnius regions

Lithuanian border authorities have confiscated around 34,000 packs of illegal cigarettes in separate operations in the Lazdijai and Vilnius districts, the State Border Guard Service (VSAT) reported Monday.

In Lazdijai district, officers from the Varėna Border Guard Unit’s Criminal Intelligence and Pre-Trial Investigation Division detained a couple, aged 49 and 53, at their property in Rudamina town. During a search, guards uncovered a hidden compartment beneath the floor of an outbuilding, concealed with straw, containing bundles of smuggled cigarettes. A total of 13,750 packs—some with Belarusian tax stamps, others unstamped—were seized. The estimated value, including unpaid taxes, reaches €75,763. The couple was briefly detained before being released under written pledges not to leave the country. A pre-trial investigation for illegal handling of excise goods, punishable by fines or up to eight years in prison, is underway, led by prosecutors from Kaunas Regional Prosecutor’s Office.

In a separate overnight operation in Vilnius district and the capital, VSAT officers acted on intelligence about illegal excise goods transport. A 54-year-old Vilnius district resident was stopped in Baltosios Vokės village while driving a Renault Master van loaded with 40 boxes of unstamped Winston Blue and Marlboro Gold cigarettes—approximately 20,000 packs. Later, in Vilnius, two Lithuanian men, aged 28 and 36, were detained near a gas station on J. Tiškevičiaus Street in connection with the case. All three suspects were released after questioning, subject to bail, travel restrictions, and document confiscation. A pre-trial investigation, overseen by Vilnius Regional Prosecutor’s Office, has been launched; convictions may carry fines or up to six years’ imprisonment.