Žmonės.lt inquired whether the Lithuanian embassy is aware of this incident, and the ministry’s representatives provided an official response: “The Lithuanian embassy in Singapore has not received any reports about the mentioned incident.”
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The ministry explained that foreign state institutions are not required to automatically notify about detained foreigners. This is done only if the detained person explicitly requests it.
“According to the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, the competent authorities of the receiving state inform the consular post of the foreign state about the detention of its citizen only if the detainee expresses a wish for such notification,” the sent comment states.
The comment also included what assistance is provided to Lithuanian citizens in such cases.
“We note that consular assistance is provided only in cases established by the Consular Statute. If a person is detained or arrested, Lithuanian consular officers, following Article 18 of the statute, may contact or visit them, ensure that the right to a defender and, if necessary, an interpreter is guaranteed, maintain communication with the detainee, and verify that their detention conditions are not worse than those of the citizens of the receiving state,” added the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
We remind that Kęstutis Pika, born in 1979, was caught on July 12 in Laos. According to the portal “Voice of Vietnam,” it is suspected that the man had about 15 kilograms of heroin with him at the time of detention.
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The Lithuanian planned to transport this illegal cargo by air from the city of Luang Prabang in Laos to the capital of Vietnam, Hanoi.
This operation is the result of close cooperation between officials of the two countries.
It involved Vietnamese police officers working in Laos, the special group of the Department for Combating Drug Crime of the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security, and officials from Luang Prabang province.
According to investigation data, during the initial interrogation, K. Pika admitted his guilt and stated that the transported heroin was intended for distribution in Hanoi.
Currently, Vietnamese and Laotian authorities continue the investigation.
Officials are clarifying the origin of the drugs, searching for other persons involved in this criminal activity, and aiming to completely dismantle the international drug distribution network.
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