Volumes of detained smuggled cigarettes triple

The volumes of smuggled cigarettes detained in Lithuania almost tripled in the first quarter of this year, from the same period last year, the country's Customs Criminal Service said on Friday.

A total of 5.875 million packs of smuggled cigarettes were detained during the period, compared to 1.940 million pacts a year aog.

The total value of the detained smuggled cigarettes, mostly Belarusian, including mandatory taxes, exceeded 20 million euros.

Around 38 percent of the smuggled shipments were detained on the Belarusian border, and another third was busted inside the country.

The number of large shipments of smuggled cigarettes is on the rise in Lithuania, the service noted.