{"id":207359,"date":"2026-10-14T12:41:39","date_gmt":"2026-10-14T09:41:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/207359\/"},"modified":"2026-10-14T12:41:41","modified_gmt":"2026-10-14T09:41:41","slug":"lithuanias-supreme-court-upholds-verdict-in-major-cigarette-smuggling-case","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/207359\/","title":{"rendered":"Lithuania’s Supreme Court upholds verdict in major cigarette smuggling case"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

October 14, Pozirk.<\/em> <\/strong>Yesterday, Lithuania\u2019s Supreme Court upheld the guilty verdict against two former customs officials convicted over involvement in smuggling of Belarusian cigarettes, LRT<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Romas Kavaliauskas and Romanas Cololo were convicted of abusing authority and participating in an organized group that smuggled cigarettes from Belarus and distributed them in Lithuania.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both customs officers failed to conduct the required inspections of trucks and their cargo at the \u0160al\u010dininkai customs post, directing the vehicles to a phytosanitary inspection, which was not actually carried out, the court said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than 3 million packs of cigarettes valued at \u20ac11.4 million with excise stamps from third countries were reportedly illegally imported into Lithuania from Belarus in four truck shipments between October and December 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kavaliauskas, who allowed three shipments through, was fined \u20ac90,000 and banned from holding public office for five years. Cololo, who allowed one shipment through, was fined \u20ac62,500 and banned from public office for three years. Belarusians Ihar Kazilecki and Andrej Razuma\u016d, who delivered the contraband cigarettes, were also convicted in the same case and were ordered to pay hefty fines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The court also upheld a civil claim by the Vilnius Regional Customs Office seeking nearly \u20ac9.8 million in unpaid taxes. The convicted individuals were ordered to reimburse the amount, although it remains unclear whether the ruling applies only to Lithuanians or to both Lithuanians and Belarusians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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