Authorities detain two more border guards over alleged misconduct

Two more border guards have been detained in Varėna district on suspicion of abuse of office, the State Border Guard Service (VSAT) said on Wednesday, LRT reported.

The officers, junior specialists at the Aleksandras Barauskas Border Guard Station in the Varėna Border Guard Unit, were detained off duty on Tuesday. They were charged with suspected abuse of office as part of a pre-trial investigation led by the Kaunas Regional Prosecutor’s Office. The investigation, opened earlier in the Pagėgiai Border Guard Unit, concerns the illegal possession of excise goods and abuse of office.

Interior Minister Martynas Katelynas also announced the detentions on Wednesday, writing on Facebook that “a uniform is not a shield from responsibility.”

The VSAT is conducting four pre-trial investigations into the illegal possession of excise goods and abuse of office. This year, following investigations by its Immunity Board, 13 officers have been suspected of corruption-related offences. Eight are linked to the Pagėgiai investigation, two to each of two other investigations and one to a fourth case handled by the VSAT’s Criminal Investigation Board. All the officers are suspected of abuse of office; other people in the cases are suspected of possessing excise goods, including Belarusian cigarettes.