On Monday, after the deadline for re-registration of vehicles with Russian license plates, the Lithuanian Customs Criminal Service detained the first car – the Audi Q7 worth approximately 41,700 euros – that violated the new procedure.
Customs said that a Moldovan national travelling from Lithuania to Belarus was detained at the Medininkai border crossing on Monday at around 23:00.
“The car is likely to be confiscated and handed over to Ukraine,” the customs authorities said in a statement.
After checking the documents, officials found that the owner of the car was a Russian citizen, who was not in the car, and the driver said he was unaware of the obligation to re-register Russia-registered cars in Lithuania or the EU.
Owners of the Russia-registered cars had to either register their vehicles in Lithuanian or leave the EU by March 11.
From March 11, those driving cars with Russian license plates are considered to be in breach of the legislation and are liable under the Code of Administrative Offences, which provides for a fine and confiscation of the vehicle.
Lithuania has banned cars with Russian license plates from entering its territory in September last year, following a clarification from the European Commission. The exception is made for cars transiting the country to or from the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.
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