During an operation in Švenčionys district, VSAT officers seized a large consignment of cigarettes, a Vilnius resident and a Švenčionys resident, and a cargo minivan belonging to one of them. It did not help the smugglers that one of them tried to escape, and the other resisted. A pre-trial investigation has been launched, and both suspects have been arrested for one month.
On Saturday night, acting on information from the VSAT Criminal Intelligence Department about discovered bundles of suspected Belarusian cigarettes in the forest near Žvyriai village (Švenčionys district), located just a couple of kilometers from the Belarusian border, officers of the Eastern Department of the VSAT Special Purpose Board “Kovas” set up an ambush.
Already after midnight, with the help of measures, border guards noticed a man riding an electric scooter from a neighboring village towards the hidden bundles. He was looking around, clearly scouting the area. Just a few minutes later, another vehicle was spotted on the same road – a white van with Lithuanian license plates.
VSAT officers detained these two individuals, 29 bundles of cigarettes, a car, and two electric scooters.
Soon, both men were observed carrying and loading the bundles hidden in the forest into the car. When VSAT officers appeared from cover, one of the men dropped a bundle and started to run. The peremptory demand to stop did not affect the fugitive; a service dog helped to apprehend him. It was also needed to subdue the older man who remained by the van and actively resisted the border guards.
It was determined that a resident of Švenčionėliai town (Švenčionys district) and a Vilnius resident fell into the VSAT officers’ ambush.
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VSAT officers detained these two individuals, 29 bundles of cigarettes, a car, and two electric scooters.
Both detainees ended up in the capital’s detention center.
A pre-trial investigation into illegal possession of excise goods has been launched at the VSAT Vilnius Border Guard Unit, led by the prosecutor of the 2nd Criminal Prosecution Department of the Vilnius Regional Prosecutor’s Office.
For such a criminal act, the law provides for a fine or imprisonment for up to eight years.
On Monday, the court imposed pre-trial detention measures on both suspects – arrest for one month.
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