Most of the smuggled cigarettes in Latvia come from a factory owned by Belarus, reports the Latvian television program “De facto”.
According to the program, there are many indications that the regime of Alexander Lukashenko is also involved in this illegal business.
This year and last year, more than half of the illegal smoking in Latvia came from Belarus. The smuggled cigarettes that were imported across the Latvian-Russian border also have Belarusian excise stamps in most cases, the program found out at the State Revenue Service (SRS).
Cigarettes from customs officers are hidden in cargo of chips, pasta, coal, metal, concrete blocks. Smugglers tend to float cigarettes on pieces of ice and attach them to a train with a magnet, which can already be detached remotely on the Latvian side.
Last year, a total of 72.7 million illegal cigarettes were seized in Latvia. 55% of them came across the Belarusian border. In customs duties alone, 17 million euros were spent in the country’s wallet.
This year, the volumes are smaller – about 25 million cigarettes, but the number of recorded cases has increased significantly.
However, when it comes to smuggling from Belarus, it is important to emphasize that it is not only organized crime, but also that this diligence is also a source of income for the Lukashnek regime.
Out of every three illegal packets of cigarettes found in Latvia, two are with Belarusian excise stamps. In addition, cigarette labels such as ‘NZ’ and ‘Premier’ and inscriptions on the confiscated boxes indicate that the cigarettes were manufactured at Neman’s plant in Belarus.
“It is a Grodno tobacco factory. (..) We understand that these cigarettes are actually produced in the state-controlled tobacco production sites of Belarus, ”Raimonds Zukuls, Director of the SRS Customs Department, explained to the program.-
Market research agency “Nielsen” estimates that almost 80% of smuggled cigarettes in Latvia are made at the Grodno plant.
Energo-Oil has the exclusive right to distribute the products of this tobacco factory. It belongs to the family of Alexei Alexin, a businessman close to Lukashenko.
Alexine escaped from European Union sanctions in December. Latgales alus, which belongs to his family, employs dozens of workers in Daugavpils. However, in the fourth round of sanctions, which followed the hijacking of a Ryanair plane by Belarus this summer, Alexina was still on the list. Aleksin had to sell his businesses in Latvia.
The reasons for Alexander’s inclusion on the sanctions list include his involvement in the tobacco, oil, real estate and logistics businesses, as well as his close relationship with Lukashenko, such as Alexander’s family owning property in the Mogilev region, is a frequent visitor.
The European Union also imposed various trade restrictions in June, including on cigarette raw materials, to make it more difficult for Belarusian factories to operate.
In response to the migrant crisis caused by Belarus, the prime ministers of the Baltic states called in early August for an extension of the European Union’s sanctions against the Lukashenko regime. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the names of people and companies that could be subject to sanctions are currently being discussed between Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Poland.
“We are looking at the individuals and legal entities involved in this hybrid operation in Belarus. Persons and companies engaged in the recruitment, transportation, accommodation and resettlement of third-country nationals at national borders, ”says Andžejs Vilumsons, Director of the First Department of Bilateral Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The ministry estimates that it will take several weeks for a decision on new sanctions to be made, the program reports.
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