Citizens of Russia and Latvia may lose their cars due to cigarette smuggling

March 5, Vitebsk / Sergey Kochetov - BELTA/. Vitebsk customs officers today at the Belarusian-Latvian border in the Verkhnedvinsk district, while inspecting two DAF trucks, discovered two batches of cigarettes that were being illegally transported to Latvia in hidden compartments. This was reported to a BELTA correspondent by Petr Markachevsky, head of the customs' operational search department. The trucks, driven by citizens of Russia and Latvia, were transiting through Belarus. In total, almost 1.5 thousand packs of Russian-made tobacco products were seized during the inspection. The cigarettes were transported in specially equipped hidden compartments, which were adapted from the technological voids of the vehicles. The total value of the seized goods and vehicles, which are also subject to an administrative customs offense, is about Br600 million. An administrative process has been initiated in this regard. The materials will be transferred to the court for a decision on the confiscation of goods and vehicles and the prosecution of the guilty parties. -0-