During the customs control measures in the port of Ventspils, the customs officials of the State Revenue Service (SRS) prevented the illegal movement of 4,740,000 cigarettes or 237,000 packets, the SRS informed LETA.
Cigarettes were hidden in a truckload – instead of bathroom tiles, cigarette packets were placed in boxes.
During the control measures in the port of Ventspils, the officials of the SRS Customs Board directed a car with a load – bathroom equipment for an in-depth inspection. It was to be delivered from Latvia to Sweden.
After evaluating the cargo accompanying documents, a decision was made to scan the vehicle. Analyzing the scanned image, customs officers suspected illegal movement of goods. During the in-depth inspection, customs officials discovered that the cardboard boxes marked “bathroom tiles” contained cigarettes. There were 294 boxes in the truck.
As signs of a criminal offense were seen, officials of the SRS Tax and Customs Police Department were involved in the control.
As a result of customs control, on Wednesday, July 1, it was established that instead of the goods indicated in the accompanying documents, there are 4,740,000 cigarettes (237,000 packets, 23,700 blocks) “Winston Blue” without excise duty stamps in the consignment.
According to preliminary estimates, the total amount of unpaid taxes on these cigarettes is more than 888,000 euros.
Criminal proceedings have been initiated in the SRS Tax and Customs Police Board regarding the detected criminal offense according to the features of the criminal offense for smuggling in a large amount provided for in Section 190, Paragraph 3 of the Criminal Law.
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