Polotsk border guards thwarted another smuggling attempt

A batch of cigarettes intended for illegal transfer to a neighboring country was discovered by Polotsk border guards in the Verkhnedvinsk district, a short distance from the Belarusian-Latvian border. Near the location where the cigarettes were found, a Niva vehicle, used by the organizers of the cigarette transfer, was spotted. When border guards attempted to detain the off-road vehicle, the driver ignored the border patrol's orders to stop and sped away at high speed.

Assessing the situation, the border guards were compelled to use their weapons. After two warning shots fired into the air, two more shots were fired at the vehicle's tires. The vehicle, with a punctured tire, soon came to a halt. The offenders began to flee into the forest. As a result of a comprehensive set of measures, a group of 4 individuals suspected of involvement in this offense was detained. All detainees are citizens of Belarus.

3500 packs of "NZ gold" cigarettes were seized. An administrative process has been initiated against the detained citizens.

Several hours earlier, at the "Bigosovo" railway station, 10 boxes of cigarettes (5000 packs) bearing Belarusian excise stamps, also intended for transfer to the Republic of Latvia, were discovered hidden under coal in 2 semi-wagons of a freight train traveling from Polotsk to Daugavpils.

All detained cigarettes have been seized, and their estimated value is being determined.

As of July 7th, since the beginning of the year, Polotsk border guards have thwarted 49 attempts to transfer nicotine products to Latvia and Lithuania, totaling over 719 thousand packs of cigarettes with a total value exceeding 5 billion Belarusian rubles.

 

Press Service of the Polotsk Border Guard Detachment