A Lithuanian court has on Monday issued prison sentences, ranging from 7 to 16 years, to former criminal police officers from the country's northern city of Šiauliai for the involvement in organized crime.
They were found guilty of misappropriation of drugs during police searches, involvement in an organized group and other crimes, Jolita Gudelienė, spokeswoman for Panevėžys Regional Court told BNS.
The former police officers were accused of asset misappropriation, abuse of official position and exceeding authority, illegal possession of guns, ammunitions, having the intention to distribute illegally acquired drugs, document forgery, false testimonies, false crime reports and evidence forgery to launch criminal persecution against a person.
Four officers who were not involved in the organized criminal group as well as four civilians were also sentenced, while four former police officers were acquitted due to the lack of evidence.
The convicts had their assets confiscated and the court also accepted civil lawsuits by legal entities and persons against them.
Elanas Jablonskas, the chief of the Police Department's Immunity Board, told BNS that 14 out of the 18 persons convicted in this case were former police officers, including three police chiefs.
"Currently, all of the police officers either no longer work in the police or are suspended from service," he said. It's the first such case in the history of Lithuanian police.
The ruling can be appealed with the Court of Appeal within 20 days.
