Border guards seize cigarette shipment after forest chase near Grūtas

Border guards seized 6,000 packs of cigarettes and detained three men after a car chase near Grūtas village in Druskininkai Municipality, LRT reported, citing Lithuania’s State Border Guard Service (VSAT).

Officers from the Varėna Border Guard Unit’s Criminal Intelligence Division, assisted by colleagues from Druskininkai police, tried to stop a Volkswagen Passat on the Varėna to Gardinas road after suspecting it was carrying smuggled cigarettes.

The driver ignored the uniformed officers’ clear order to stop, accelerated and drove towards Viečiūnai. During the search for the fleeing driver, officers found the abandoned car at the edge of a forest.

An inspection uncovered 12 large bundles containing 6,000 packs of NZ Gold and Minsk 5 Superslims cigarettes with Belarusian tax stamps. The shipment is preliminarily valued at nearly 33,000 euros, including all taxes payable in Lithuania.

Three men linked to the shipment were detained. They are residents of Druskininkai Municipality aged 25, 33 and 39.

VSAT’s Varėna Border Guard Unit has opened a pre-trial investigation into the unlawful possession of excise-taxed goods. The investigation is being led by a prosecutor from the Second Criminal Prosecution Division of the Kaunas Regional Prosecutor’s Office.

The offence carries a fine or up to four years in prison. The three suspects were placed in police detention for 48 hours. After questioning, authorities will decide whether to impose pre-trial measures.

The Volkswagen Passat and the seized cigarettes are being temporarily held at units of the Varėna Border Guard Unit.