A cargo truck Renault entered the Raigardas road post near Druskininkai at about 3 PM on Sunday, the Lithuanian driver declared he was transporting coniferous timber.
Although shipment documents were in order, officers of the Vilnius territorial customs decided to check the cargo with special devices amid suspicions about the weight of the declared cargo.
A metal detector suggested a possibility of hidden smuggling items.
A thorough examination revealed that timber was merely a camouflage for hidden containers with approximately 320,000 packs of Belorussian-made cigarettes Fest and Fest 7. Preliminary value of the seized cargo was set at 2.25 million litas.
Officers opened a case and detained the driver for 48 hours.
2012 05 29
Lithuanian customs bust 650-thousand-euro cigarette shipment hidden in timber
Lithuanian customs officers have apprehended a large shipment of smuggled cigarettes in Druskininkai district, southern part of the country. About 2.25 million litas (EUR 650,000) worth of Belorussian cigarettes were hidden in a shipment of timber en route from Belarus, the Customs Criminal Service has said.
Cigarettes were hidden in timber truck. / Lietuvos muitinės nuotr.
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