LATVIA —
Officials of the Customs Administration of the State Revenue Service (SRS) and the State Border Guard prevented the smuggling of 330,000 cigarettes (16,500 packs of cigarettes) while controlling freight trains on the border between Latvia and Belarus. Cigarettes hidden in cast-iron cargoes were helped by customs working dogs trained in the search for tobacco products.
On February 18, 2023, at the Indra customs control point (MKP), while carrying out control of the composition of a freight train arriving from Belarus, a customs canine with a tobacco detection working dog in cooperation with State Border Guard (VRS) officials found hidden, undeclared goods – cigarettes . A total of 35,000 “NZ Gold” cigarettes (1,750 packs of cigarettes) with excise tax stamps of the Republic of Belarus were seized.
Also on February 15, the customs canine specialist of Indra MKP, while inspecting the freight train with a working dog, became suspicious of undeclared goods in several wagons. During the physical control of the wagons, customs and VRS officials found packages with “Premier” and “NZ Gold” cigarettes hidden under a layer of cast iron. 55,000 cigarettes or 2,750 packs of cigarettes with excise stamps of the Republic of Belarus were seized.
On the other hand, on February 14, at the Indra Railway Station, while inspecting the train with a service dog, the customs canine discovered contraband cigarettes in the trains of two trains. On one train, in the course of physical customs control, customs and VRS officials discovered boxes containing a total of 210,000 “NZ Gold”, “Premier”, “Queen” and “Minsk” cigarettes (10,500 packs of cigarettes) in wagons under a layer of cast iron. As a result of the control of the second train, customs officials seized 30,000 “Premier” cigarettes (1,500 packs of cigarettes) with excise stamps of the Republic of Belarus.
The amount of taxes unpaid to the state for the seized cigarettes is approximately 64,000 euros.
When signs of a criminal offense were detected during customs control, 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.
