{"id":152243,"date":"2025-08-22T20:57:05","date_gmt":"2025-08-22T17:57:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/152243\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T20:40:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:40:57","slug":"belarusians-detained-at-underground-tobacco-factory-in-lithuania","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/152243\/","title":{"rendered":"Belarusians detained at underground tobacco factory in Lithuania"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

August 22, Pozirk<\/em>.<\/strong> Saulius Briginas, deputy chief of the Lithuanian Criminal Police Bureau, has announced the detention of 11 people, including Belarusian nationals, at an underground tobacco factory in Kaunas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to LRT<\/em>, Briginas said the enterprise had operated for about a year, producing counterfeit cigarettes branded as Marlboro, Camel, Winston and Prince.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andrius Kiur\u0161inas of the Kaunas District Prosecutor\u2019s Office said the pre-trial investigation involves four charges: organizing and participating in a criminal association; illegally storing particularly large quantities of excisable goods; abusing registered trademarks; and stealing documents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All suspects have been remanded for three months, the prosecutor said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to law enforcement officials, the detainees could produce up to 200 boxes of cigarettes in one shift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About 459,000 cigarette packs were reportedly seized during searches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In total, the factory produced about 6.5 million cigarette packs worth up to \u20ac30 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to preliminary estimates, the damage to the Lithuanian state due to non-payment of excise taxes and VAT may constitute \u20ac16 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is unclear how many Belarusians were detained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On August 20, the Lithuanian customs service reported the discovery of two batches of Belarusian cigarettes being smuggled through Vilnius Airport. The cargo arrived on August 4 and 7 from the United Arab Emirates and Turkey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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