Lithuania reports a surge in cigarette smuggling from Belarus

February 28, Pozirk. The Lithuanian State Border Guard Service has reported a surge in cigarette smuggling with more than 2 million packs of cigarettes seized since the start of 2025.

By contrast, 1.4 million packs, including 1.2 million packs manufactured in Belarus, worth more than €6.1 million were seized in the 12 months of 2024.

In one of the recent cases, border guards found almost 90,000 packs of Belarusian-made cigarettes worth nearly €400,000 at a Vilnius warehouse. Three suspects, including a Belarusian national, were arrested.

In two other incidents, suspected smugglers from the European Union knocked border guards down while trying to escape in vehicles.

A Lithuanian border guard was hospitalized after a hit-and-run accident yesterday. The officer was reportedly pursuing the car driven by two Latvians, who picked up a balloon with 1,500 packs of Belarusian cigarettes. Both suspects were arrested and face criminal charges.

Polish border authorities also reported a similar incident three days ago.

Latvia became a major transit country for illegally imported cigarettes after the smuggling from Russia and Belarus dropped significantly in 2024.

Also read: Lithuania seizes €5.6 million worth of Belarusian cigarettes