Top court upholds convictions in 11.4 million euro cigarette smuggling case
Tuesday 13th October 2026 on 15:01 in
Lithuania
Lithuania’s Supreme Court has upheld the convictions of two former customs officers in a case involving the smuggling of nearly 11.4 million euros’ worth of Belarusian cigarettes, LRT reported Tuesday.
The court found no errors in the application of the law or serious procedural violations in the lower courts’ rulings. Romas Kavaliauskas and Romanas Cololo were convicted of abuse of office and of taking part in an organised group that helped smuggle cigarettes and handle them illegally in Lithuania.
The court said the officers failed to inspect vehicles and cargo arriving in the customs territory, allowing the cigarettes to enter Lithuania. The group members had divided up their roles: some transported cigarettes from Belarus, while the customs officers enabled the trucks to cross the border without the required checks.
According to the case records, more than 3 million packs of cigarettes bearing third-country tax stamps were smuggled into Lithuania in four truckloads between October and December 2019 via the Šalčininkai road border post. Their customs value, including taxes due, was nearly 11.4 million euros. The officers directed the trucks for phytosanitary inspections, which were not carried out, after which the drivers brought the cargo into Lithuania.
Kavaliauskas, who allowed three loads through, was fined 90,000 euros and barred from working in public service for five years. Cololo, who allowed one load through, was fined 62,500 euros and given a three-year ban.
Two Belarusian citizens, Iharas Kaziletskis and Andrejus Razumovas, were also convicted for their roles in loading and transporting the cigarettes through customs checkpoints and ensuring delivery of the smuggled cargo. Kaziletskis was fined 77,500 euros, and more than 32,000 euros in assets were ordered confiscated. Razumovas was fined 60,000 euros, with more than 10,000 euros also to be recovered. They did not appeal to the Supreme Court, which considered only the customs officers’ lawyer’s appeal.
The court also upheld a civil claim by the Vilnius Territorial Customs Office for nearly 9.8 million euros in unpaid taxes, which the convicted defendants must repay jointly.