Hrodna Customs Officers Confiscated Cars For $ 500 Thousand

The trucks’ VIN numbers had been replaced.

According to the Hrodna regional customs, from the beginning of 2018, about 20 attempts to import freight vehicles with modified VIN-numbers into the territory of the EEU have been prevented.

Thus, a MAN truck with Russian registration numbers was detained at the Bruzhi border crossing point, and a DAF with Kyrgyz numbers – at the Pryvalka checkpoint. Not only a truck tractor with replaced numbers, but also a semitrailer to it, was detained at the Beniakoni checkpoint.

"International transportation vehicles were imported under the guise of cars having registration in the countries of the EEU. Those who commit such violations pursue the goal of avoiding payment of customs fees in full," – customs officials say.

Over the facts identified by customs officers, experts of the territorial offices of the State Committee for Forensic Expertise for Hrodna region delivered an opinion that the factory identification numbers of the cars had been changed. The numbers had been changed both by welding after removing the primary panel and by applying secondary marking elements to the original number.

The total assessed cost of the seized vehicles is more than 1 million Belarusian rubles.

The papers of some of the cases have already been forwarded to the court for taking a decision in accordance with Part 2 of Article 14.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of Belarus, the sanction of which provides for confiscation of the vehicle.