In nine months, almost twice as many smuggled smokers were seized than last year

According to Nielsen’s “empty pack” survey, illegal cigarettes currently account for about 19.3% of Lithuania’s cigarettes. market for tobacco products (last year amounted to 21, 4 percent).

The main forecast of customs analysts has been confirmed, that the volumes of cigarette smuggling to Lithuania will increase strongly this year. By the end of September this year, customs officials already detained 85 percent. more illegal smokers than at the same time last year.

Consequently, the number of pre-trial investigations initiated by the Criminal Customs Service due to tobacco smuggling increased by a third (33%) (last year it was 52, this year – 69). The damage prevented to the state also reaches an impressive 43.48 million. EUR amount.

The “hottest” area in the fight against cigarette smuggling was again the border with Belarus, where 59 percent were detained. illegal smokers. Another 15 percent. detained on the border with Poland, and 26 percent. – within the country.

Notably, the ban on the sale of peppermint cigarettes, which entered into force in the EU in May, has affected to some extent the cigarette smuggling flows in Lithuania. The smuggling of mint cigarettes has doubled to 6%. the total amount of smuggled tobacco products seized this year (last year it was 3%).

However, the forecast at the beginning of the year that smuggling of heating tobacco (Heets) could increase has not been confirmed. So far this year there have been three arrests for this type of smuggling (60.7 thousand pieces of spicy tobacco), all in the first quarter of the year.

Through joint efforts, officials appear to have been able to stabilize the growth of the dark tobacco market. According to the latest data from the Nielsen “empty pack” survey, currently illegal cigarettes represent about 19.3 percent of Lithuania’s population. markets for tobacco products.

The number of smuggled cigarettes on the Lithuanian market was almost the same in 2015-2018 and only increased last year (up 21.4%).

It should be noted that it is the Lithuanian customs officials who bear perhaps the greatest burden in the fight against suspect tobacco products. During the three quarters of this year, cigarette smuggling seized by customs officials accounted for up to 92 percent. this year, the number of illegal smokers arrested by all police institutions in Lithuania.

There is still an extremely large trend in truck smuggling: in the third quarter of the year, there was no shortage of arrests, when between 1,000 and 1,500 cigarette cases were smuggled into the truck’s semi-trailer.

Rail transport, which still actively transports large amounts of intricately disguised cigarette contraband, has also remained relevant and needs greater attention from customs officials. For example, only at the Kena train station earlier this year, customs officials 100 thousand. A shipment of cigarettes worth 1 million euros was found hidden in a shipment of reference blocks transported by train from Belarus. The cigarettes were packed in iron “cages” and covered with cement.

In early October, the Kena railway post customs officials about 240 thousand. Smoking packages (worth about 850 thousand euros) were detected on building plates transported by train from Belarus. Each of them was equipped with hiding places: iron boxes filled with cigarettes.

Customs officials hope that new and modern technical measures for rail transport inspection will help strengthen control of rail freight transport in the near future.