(Luxembourg, 28 January 2025) – The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Vilnius (Lithuania) has secured four convictions, including of two former customs officers, following an investigation into an organised crime group found to have evaded nearly €10 million in import, customs and excise taxes by smuggling cigarettes.
Last week (23 January), the Vilnius Regional Court convicted two former Lithuanian customs officers, as well as two Belarusian citizens, for the smuggling of large quantities of cigarettes and the illegal disposal of excise goods. In addition, the customs officers were convicted of abuse of office.
The Court ordered the defendants to pay almost €10 million in damages. In addition, they were fined nearly €300 000, and had an additional €42 000 confiscated, which constitutes the value of the lorries used for carrying out the smuggling. The customs officers were also prohibited from holding civil service positions, one for a period of three years and the other for five years.
As previously reported, the modus operandi involved the loading of the cigarettes onto trucks in the Republic of Belarus, where they have been produced. Afterwards, they were brought into the territory of the EU through a customs post on the Belarusian-Lithuanian border without submitting the goods to customs control. In total, over three million packets of cigarettes were illegally smuggled in this way.
The defendants retain the right to appeal the Vilnius Regional Court’s verdict before the Lithuanian Court of Appeal within 20 days.
The EPPO is the independent public prosecution office of the European Union. It is responsible for investigating, prosecuting, and bringing to judgment crimes against the financial interests of the EU.