On Monday, June 8, the border guards in Skrudalienas municipality (Daugavpils region) stopped illegally moving cigarettes across the state border, detaining two Latvian citizens.
Officials of the Silene border guarding department, while examining information regarding the illegal movement of excisable goods, four boxes wrapped in black polyethylene bag were identified in the parish of Skrudaliena, the border zone, but two Latvian citizens were detained as a result of search activities regarding the committing of a criminal offence. In total, border guards removed 80,000 cigarettes on NZ Gold with Belarusian excise stamps.
Criminal proceedings have been initiated following the second paragraph of Section 190 of the Criminal Law (regarding the introduction into or removal from the customs territory of the Republic of Latvia of goods or other values subject to customs clearance, bypassing customs control or concealing them from such control, or by not declaring or using falsified customs or other documents or by other illegal means (smuggling), if it has been committed to a large extent in a group of persons, after prior agreement). Non-custodial safeguards have been applied to persons.
Both persons will also be referred to under administrative responsibility after the first paragraph of Article 194.1 (for violation of the regime of the State border zone, border zone, border border or border crossing point).
Information prepared by: Olanta Babishko, senior specialist of the Strategic Development and Public Relations Division of the State Border Guard, Tel. 67075617, mob. 20364206, e-mail: jolanta.babisko@rs.gov.lv