Customs officers found 5,000 packs of contraband cigarettes in a cargo train from Belarus

On Monday, April 1, at the Indra customs checkpoint, a customs canine with a working dog, while checking the composition of a freight train arriving from Belarus, found undeclared cigarettes in one of the wagons. They were hidden in the cargo, among the bags of malt. The container contained 40,000 “NZ Gold” cigarettes with Belarusian excise stamps.

During the inspection of the cargo train at the Daugavpils goods station, in cooperation with the State Border Guard officials, on Tuesday, April 2, a customs canine with a working dog detected contraband cigarettes in two wagons with a load of cast iron ingots. Several packages of cigarettes were hidden under the layer of cast iron. As a result of customs control, 20,000 “NZ Gold” cigarettes with Belarusian excise stamps were seized.

On the other hand, on March 28, at the Indra customs control point, while controlling the train composition, customs officials found contraband cigarettes hidden in coils of wire. This cargo was used as a hiding place for 40,000 “NZ Gold” cigarettes with Belarusian excise stamps.

The unpaid amount of taxes in the state budget for such amount of cigarettes exceeds 22,000 euros.

During the customs control, when signs of a criminal offense – smuggling of tobacco products on a large scale – were detected, the case materials were handed over to the Tax and Customs Police Department of the SRS for decision-making on the initiation of criminal proceedings.