Police seek charges against organized group over illegal cigarette trade in Latvia and Scandinavia

Latvia's Tax and Customs Police have concluded an investigation into an organized group accused of distributing large quantities of illegal cigarettes in Latvia and Scandinavian countries. The case was handed to prosecutors on July 27 with a request to launch criminal prosecution against five individuals.

The criminal process began in May of last year. Investigators found that the suspects had organized illegal storage of tobacco products in a warehouse in Rīga's Jugla neighborhood.

Scale of the seizure

Searches of the warehouse, the suspects' residences and vehicles yielded a total of 3,845,000 units of illegal cigarettes. These included 690,000 Marlboro cigarettes, 220,000 Marlboro Gold cigarettes and 750,000 Winston cigarettes without excise tax stamps, as well as 2,185,000 Winston Blue cigarettes bearing Belarusian excise stamps.

Investigators established that the cigarettes had been packed into cardboard boxes of various sizes for further distribution, with courier mail services also used to move the products.

International cooperation

Latvian police worked with foreign law enforcement agencies, including notifying Finnish Customs about suspicious parcels. Finnish authorities confirmed the shipments indeed contained cigarettes marked with Belarusian excise stamps.

The suspects could face charges under Section 221, Part Three of the Criminal Law, covering illegal trafficking of tobacco products on a large scale by an organized group. The offense carries a penalty of up to five years' imprisonment, short-term imprisonment, probationary supervision, community service or a fine, with possible confiscation of property.

Under Latvian law, no person is considered guilty until proven so through the established legal procedure.