Lithuanian Customs Detained Contraband Cigarettes For €32 Million Since Start Of Year

Most of them are the products of the Hrodna tobacco factory.

Since the beginning of 2021, the Lithuanian-Belarusian border has seized tobacco contraband with a market value of nearly €32 million, reports the Customs Service of Lithuania.

During six months, customs officers found 8.8 million packs of cigarettes, which were smuggled into Lithuania. Most of them are the products of the Hrodna tobacco factory. About a quarter of all smuggling came from Kaliningrad region of Russia, and 75% - from Belarus.

In response, black market dealers had to raise the price of contraband cigarettes. If last year a pack of a popular Belarusian brand was sold for €1.7, now it costs €1.9 - €2. It costs €3.76 in the store.

The biggest batch of tobacco smuggling occurred on April 1, when Lithuanian law enforcers "uncovered" a warehouse storing about 1 million packs of cigarettes with a market value of nearly 4 million euros.