Lithuanian border guards suspected in cigarette smuggling scheme

In the early hours of Monday, 22 boxes of cigarettes delivered by drones were intercepted at the border in the Lazdijai district, and two individuals who arrived to collect the cargo were detained.

It later emerged that the border guards themselves may have been involved in the scheme: two junior specialists from the Kapčiamiestis border post were arrested, and a senior investigator from the Varena border post was detained at his workplace. Two more suspects in the smuggling operation were apprehended in Valkininkai. So far this year, four border guards have been detained on corruption charges.

In May, former Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė acknowledged that for years there had been connections between law enforcement and smugglers within the system.