One of the Largest Drug Labs in the Baltics Uncovered in Lithuania
Lithuanian police found over 500 kilograms of methamphetamine and 300 kilograms of amphetamine in a secret lab in Vilnius District. Four people have been detained, including a Dutch citizen named as the main organiser.
Lithuania's Criminal Police Bureau has announced the discovery of a secret drug laboratory in Vilnius District, where more than half a tonne of synthetic drugs and precursor chemicals were found. Police describe it as one of the largest labs ever detected in Lithuania and the Baltic states. Four people have been detained, and the investigation is continuing.
What police found
Officers seized over 500 kilograms of methamphetamine, 300 kilograms of amphetamine, about 4.5 kilograms of synthetic cathinones and roughly 3,000 litres of BMK, a precursor chemical used to make synthetic drugs. Preliminary estimates suggest this equals more than four million single doses. The wholesale value of the seized drugs exceeds two million euros, while the retail value could be roughly ten times higher. About 200,000 euros in cash was also confiscated.
During the operation, a shipment at a Lithuanian logistics company, due to be sent to the Czech Republic, was intercepted. It contained 17 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine in hiding.
Production and export
Police say the drugs were produced on an industrial scale and intended for export to Belgium, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Germany. The lab operated intermittently for at least two years in a building rented from private individuals. Equipment and chemicals were brought in from China, India and various European countries, while the suspects also bought uncontrolled chemicals from specialised companies in Lithuania. Police found 380 hydrogen gas cylinders imported from China, and sulphuric acid was purchased in one-tonne batches.
The suspects
Rolandas Imbrasas, a prosecutor in the organised crime and corruption investigation unit of the Vilnius regional prosecutor's office, said four people are charged with possessing a very large quantity of psychotropic substances as part of an organised group. One detainee, a Dutch citizen of Turkish origin, is identified as the main organiser; he did not live in Lithuania permanently but visited regularly. The others are Lithuanian citizens, one of whom has a previous conviction for drug trafficking.
Law enforcement continues to search for distributors and those involved in smuggling drugs abroad. Police have dismantled all the lab's equipment and moved it to a secure evidence warehouse.
