Illegal export of cigarettes worth Br90 million stopped at the Belarusian-Latvian border

January 18, Vitebsk / Sergey Kochetov - BELTA /. The Vitebsk customs has prevented the illegal export of a batch of cigarettes with a preliminary estimated value of over Br90 million at the Belarusian-Latvian border in the Braslav district, the customs informed a BELTA correspondent. During special operations at the "Urbany" checkpoint, officers of the customs' anti-smuggling department, together with border guards, stopped a Renault truck for inspection. The vehicle, driven by a Latvian citizen, was traveling from Russia to Latvia without cargo. Customs officers discovered specially equipped hiding places in the floor and ceiling of the refrigerator. More cigarettes with Russian excise stamps were being transported in them, concealed from customs clearance. In total, about 50,000 packs of tobacco products were seized. An administrative process has been initiated in this regard under Art. 12.27 and Part 4 of Art. 14.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of Belarus. In cases where goods are illegally transported in a hiding place, the subject of an administrative customs offense is both the goods and the vehicle. The cigarettes and the vehicle have been seized pending a court decision on bringing the guilty parties to justice and confiscating the goods and the vehicle. -0-