Estonian customs officers seize 130,000 contraband Belarusian cigarettes
In December, customs officers in Estonian coastal city Pärnu seized a consignment of 130,000 Belarusian contraband cigarettes.
The contraband cigarettes were found on December 19, after a car driven by a 31-year-old Lithuanian citizen was stopped in Pärnu, a press release from the Estonian Tax and Customs Board.
The driver claimed he was heading to Tallinn to meet a friend. However, when his vehicle was taken for closer inspection, customs officers discovered it had been equipped with hiding places for the transportation of large amounts of cigarettes.
Customs officers found a hidden compartment in the floor of the vehicle containing 90,000 NZ Gold cigarettes with Belarusian excise stamps. After removing the carpet in the cabin, another hatch was found, containing a further 40,000 cigarettes.
A criminal case was opened against the driver under Article 376 of the Penal Code, and he was detained as a suspect.
The Tax and Customs Board also reported on another more recent case of cigarette smuggling, this time at the Luhamaa border crossing on January 7.
A 43-year-old Lithuanian citizen, who had crossed the border several times during the past year, was detained upon entering Estonia from Russia.
The truck the man was driving was sent for an X-ray inspection, which revealed that the bumper of his vehicle had been fitted with a secret hiding place containing 11,600 NZ Gold cigarettes. A further 2,400 cigarettes were also found hidden in the dashboard of the cab.
All the cigarettes were confiscated and the man was fined €1,400.
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Editor: Michael Cole, Sergei Mihhailov
