Prosecutors send Kaunas counterfeit cigarette factory case to court
Wednesday 12th August 2026 on 08:30 in
Lithuania
LRT reports that prosecutors have sent a criminal case involving an illegal cigarette factory in Kaunas to the Kaunas Regional Court. Eleven people have been charged with participating in a criminal association, illegally handling excise-taxed goods and using other companies’ trademarks.
The suspects are accused of producing millions of counterfeit cigarettes. According to the case file, between March 2024 and June 2025, members of the criminal association produced, acquired, stored, transported and sold, or intended to sell, more than 146 million counterfeit cigarettes.
Prosecutors suspect that some of the cigarettes were sold in Lithuania and other European countries. The cigarettes, bearing the trademarks of well-known brands, were illegally manufactured and packaged in underground premises in Kaunas.
The group allegedly divided responsibilities among its members. Some organised and coordinated production and maintained the equipment, while others made and packaged the cigarettes, recorded the products and arranged their storage, transport and sale.
The estimated value of the illegally handled excise-taxed goods exceeds 20.7 million euros. Investigators also found more than 14 tonnes of smoking tobacco and large quantities of packaged and unpackaged counterfeit cigarettes at the production premises.
Investigators say the group took measures to avoid law enforcement attention and possible arrest. People producing the cigarettes were housed in specially adapted premises, their access to personal phones was restricted and encrypted communications devices were used.
A high-powered diesel generator was connected to the production line to conceal the unusually high electricity consumption that could have raised suspicion. The premises also contained a secret tunnel intended as a possible escape route from law enforcement officers.
The charges carry a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. The State Tax Inspectorate has also filed a 16.2 million euro civil claim for damage allegedly caused to the state.