Alcohol smuggling volumes soared in Lithuania in 2020, a representative of the country’s Customs Department said on Thursday.
Customs officers seized 14.5 tons of illegal alcohol last year, up from 2.5 tons in the previous year, Gediminas Kulikauskas, spokesman for the Customs Criminal Service, told LRT RADIO.
“We have to state that smuggling volumes have increased, in particular in the final quarter of last year,” he said.
According to him, small-scale smuggling last year was constrained by movement restrictions put in place due to the pandemic.
“Small-scale smuggling did take place but only early last year, before the rollout of movement restrictions. The overall volumes, however, were much larger than in the previous year,” sai Kulikauskas.
In early 2021, the State Border Guard Service (VSAT) reported that the country’s border guards last year discovered 526 cases of smuggling, up from 494 in 2019. In addition, border guards detained 631 suspected smugglers, up from 583 in 2019.
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