Customs officers at Lithuania’s Salcininkai border checkpoint have found smuggled cigarettes worth more than one million euros stashed inside a truck from Belarus, the Customs Criminal Service reports on Tuesday.

A total of 500 boxes containing 250,000 packs of Belarusian NZ Gold cigarettes were found inside a Scania truck driven by a Belarusian citizen on April 18. The driver had declared that he was delivering almost seven tons of Belarusian oatmeal to a Lithuanian company. After the vehicle was X-rayed, customs officers grew suspicions, and a detailed check found boxes of cigarettes mixed in with boxes of oatmeal.

In total, around 500 boxes of Belarusian cigarettes were found, valued over 1 million euros, including taxes.

A pre-trial investigation was launched and the driver was detained and later released on a written promise not to leave. He is facing a fine or up to eight years in prison.

Source: BNS

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