Customs seize 2.4 million euros in illegal cigarettes near Kryžkalnis

Lithuania’s Customs Criminal Service seized a truck carrying nearly half a million packs of illegal cigarettes near Kryžkalnis in Raseinas district, LRT reported. The cigarettes are suspected to have been produced in shadow factories in Latvia.

Customs officials stopped the DAF truck on July 30 while patrolling the A1 Vilnius-Klaipėda road. After opening the trailer, they found pallets loaded with boxes wrapped in white polyethylene film. Cigarettes were discovered inside several of the boxes.

The truck was escorted to the Klaipėda Territorial Customs Malkų įlanka seaport post for a detailed physical inspection. Preliminary figures showed 19 pallets containing 903 boxes, or about 451,500 packs of cigarettes.

The shipment included Marlboro Gold, Winston Blue, Minsk Superslims and NZ Gold cigarettes. Some packs carried Belarusian tax stamps, while others had no tax stamps.

The total value of the illegal cigarettes, including mandatory taxes, is estimated at about 2.4 million euros. Customs said this was the largest illegal cigarette seizure by Lithuanian customs this year.

The Klaipėda division of the Customs Criminal Service has opened a pre-trial investigation into the illegal possession of excise-taxed goods. The investigation is being led by the Šiauliai Regional Prosecutor’s Office.

The truck driver said he did not know what cargo was being transported. Investigators ordered him to sign a written undertaking not to leave and to register regularly at a police station. He faces a fine or up to eight years in prison.

Last year, Lithuanian customs officials seized nearly 7 million packs of illegal cigarettes in pre-trial investigations. Most had been brought in from Latvia. The Customs Criminal Service said available data indicates that both cigarettes from major global tobacco companies and Belarusian cigarettes are being counterfeited in Latvia.