Lithuanian Customs Criminal Service officers have uncovered an extensive Russian-made arms smuggling scheme, the Lithuanian Customs Department said on Friday.
During the search in Vilnius, its surroundings and the Švenčionys district, four people were detained, 319 Russian-made rifles and semi-automatic carbines “Saiga” and 12,000 rounds worth about 335,000 euros were seized.
Detainees are suspected of having set up and used a scheme aimed at circumventing the international sanctions imposed on Russian arms manufacturers in 2014 for the large-scale illegal import of Russian-made firearms into Lithuania, which were resold both in Lithuania and in other European Union (EU) Member States. .
An investigation by the Customs Criminal Service into arms smuggling and violations of international sanctions imposed on Russia was launched in 2020.
On Tuesday morning, employees of the service began searching the premises of a weapons and ammunition wholesale and retail company in the capital, as well as in Vilnius and Švenčionys districts.
The head of the company and three other people are detained, all of them Lithuanian citizens.
According to the information at the disposal of customs officers, since 2019, this company has imported a large number of new weapons, mostly semi-automatic carbines, from Russia through a Central Asian country. Although the weapons were in fact bought from sellers in Russia, the documents show that they were purchased only from the aforementioned Central Asian country, thus circumventing international sanctions.
Weapons delivered to Lithuania have been officially registered and legalized and further traded in Lithuania and other EU countries, mainly in Germany and Austria.
It is estimated that in the meantime the company was able to import around 1,500 semi-automatic carbines in this way.
The Vilnius Branch of the Customs Criminal Service is conducting a pre-trial investigation into violations of international sanctions and smuggling of arms and ammunition. Offenders face three to ten years in prison.
The investigation is being carried out in co-operation with the State Security Department, and the Lithuanian police counter-terrorism operations unit “Aras” participated in the search. The investigation is being conducted by the Vilnius District Prosecutor’s Office.
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