Smugglers’ raft with Belarusian cigarettes pulled from Neris River in Švenčionys district

Border guards in Lithuania’s Švenčionys district retrieved a snowflake-shaped raft carrying smuggled Belarusian cigarettes from the Neris River over the weekend, the State Border Guard Service (VSAT) reported on Tuesday.

According to VSAT, an operator monitoring the Pavoverė border checkpoint’s video surveillance system near Molių village in Švenčionys district spotted a suspicious object floating down the Neris River toward the Lithuanian side on Sunday. Border guards confirmed it was a hexagonal, snowflake-shaped raft and pulled it ashore.

After cutting open the metal structure, authorities found 2,900 cartons of “NZ Gold” cigarettes with Belarusian excise stamps, wrapped in black polyethylene film. The estimated value of the cigarettes, including applicable Lithuanian taxes, is €11,400.

The raft and cigarettes are temporarily stored at the Pavoverė border checkpoint. VSAT has launched a pre-trial investigation into the illegal handling of excise goods, overseen by the Vilnius Regional Prosecutor’s Office.

This is the second such incident in two months. In a similar case two months ago, border guards seized a raft carrying 2,250 cartons of the same cigarettes from the Neris. VSAT noted that cigarette smuggling by raft is rare, as such operations are more common in winter when rafts can be disguised as ice floes. Recently, air transport has become a more frequent method for cigarette smuggling.