One of the largest shipments of illegal cigarettes in 2026 was intercepted in Lithuania.

One of the largest shipments of illegal cigarettes in 2026 was intercepted in Lithuania.

One of the largest shipments of illegal cigarettes in 2026 was intercepted on Monday, November 9, by officers of the Customs Crime Branch, the Customs Department announced a few days later.

According to the department, that day a truck was stopped in the vicinity of Marijampol. The driver said that he was transporting a shipment of industrial boilers to Germany. In fact, it turned out that the semitrailer was fully loaded with illegal tobacco products - a total of 792 boxes.

"This is one of the largest shipments of illegal cigarettes seized this year. Only well-organized criminal organizations transport illicit tobacco products in this way. To deliver to Lithuania in balloons the amount of cigarettes that fit in one truck (792 boxes), it will take from 130 to 260 balloons," the report states.

The truck that was stopped contained 396 thousand packs of Winston Blue cigarettes with Blue Belarus stamps. According to preliminary estimates, the cost of the cigarettes, including taxes, may exceed 2 million euros. Department officials suspect that the Belarusian excise stamps on cigarette packs are fake. The truck driver, a Lithuanian citizen, was detained for two days. A pre-trial investigation was opened on the subject of "illegal dumping of excise goods".

From the beginning of 2026, about 3 million illegal cigarette packs were seized, most of them imported from Latvia. The total cost, including mandatory taxes in Lithuania, is about 15 million euros.

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