A group of persons with 547,920 contraband cigarettes is detained in the Riga region / Article

On March 20, officers of the State Police conducted five searches in Riga and Jurmala in connection with the illegal circulation of tobacco products (cigarettes) in the Riga region.

At the time of committing a criminal offense, two persons were detained in Jurmala – a woman born in 1982 and a man born in 1975, who stored cigarettes without Latvian tax excise stamps in the territory of the Riga region for the purpose of sale.

During the emergency search of one car and five properties, 547,920 different brands were found and seized (“Premier”, “Minsk”, “Korona”, “Manchester”, “Winston”, “Marlboro”, “NZ”, “Pall Mall”, “Fest”, “Queen”, “Dove”, “Credo”) cigarettes with and without Belarusian tax excise stamps.

After urgent procedural actions, both persons were placed in a place of temporary detention. At the moment, the status of suspects and security measures, which are not related to deprivation of liberty, have been applied to both persons.

Cigarettes were supposed to be sold in the Riga region. The detained woman had previously come under the police’s attention for committing similar crimes.

If the confiscated cigarettes had ended up on the black market, their value would be more than 65,000 euros. Thus, property damage to the Latvian state in the amount of approximately 75,000 euros has been prevented.

During the search, 3,900 euros in cash and 0.6048 grams of methamphetamine were found and seized from one person.

Criminal proceedings have been initiated for the illegal storage, transfer or sale of tobacco products, if it was done in large quantities. For such a crime, the law provides for deprivation of liberty for a period of up to five years or temporary deprivation of liberty, or probation supervision, or community service, or a fine, with or without confiscation of property.

If your action is information about persons and facts related to the illegal circulation of tobacco products and alcohol, the State Police invites you to inform by writing an e-mail: “[email protected]” or by sending the application electronically on the portal “latvija.gov.lv” using an e-mail address, or confirmed with an electronic signature by sending to e-mail: “[email protected]”, or by submitting to the nearest State Police station. Anonymity is guaranteed.