On Sunday, March 24, border guards stopped the illegal movement of cigarettes across the Latvian-Belarusian border and seized 20 000 smuggled cigarettes.
While checking information on the illegal movement of tobacco products, border guards of the Daugavpils Board of the State Border Guard detected four rectangular bundles wrapped in white polyethylene film on the bank of the Daugava River in the Saliena Parish of the Augšdaugava Municipality. While inspecting the bundles, the border guards found that they contained 20 000 "Premier" cigarettes with Belarusian excise stamps.
According to jurisdiction, cigarettes were handed over to State Police officials, who initiated criminal proceedings under Article 221(1) of the Criminal Law regarding illegal movement of tobacco products, if it has been committed on a significant scale.