Latvian border guards foil cigarette smuggling attempt on Belarus frontier Photo

Latvian border guards have intercepted a large shipment of contraband cigarettes being smuggled across the border with Belarus via the Daugava River, authorities said.

The incident occurred on April 26 during a routine patrol in the Piedruja parish of the Krāslava district. Officers from the Latvian State Border Guard spotted a suspicious object drifting downstream and launched a search using a motorboat, Caliber.Az reports per Latvian media. 

They recovered a raft carrying eight packages wrapped in black plastic. Inside, officials found 80,000 cigarettes — including 50,000 “NZ Gold” and 30,000 “Queen Superslim” — all bearing Belarusian excise stamps.

The seized goods have been handed over to police, who have opened a criminal investigation. Under Latvian law, large-scale cigarette smuggling can carry a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, with or without confiscation of property.

The incident follows a similar case earlier this month. On April 17, border guards retrieved another raft in the same area carrying 60,000 illicit cigarettes, highlighting ongoing smuggling attempts along the Latvia–Belarus border.

By Sabina Mammadli