Lithuanian customs authorities have informed on Wednesday that as of Thursday, February 16, one of the border points with Belarus will be closed to rail freight traffic to prevent tobacco smuggling.
From that date, all rail traffic will have to pass through the Kena border control, pending the installation by the end of 2024 of new x-ray technologies at the Stasyle crossing.
Lithuania has indicated that it has taken such a decision due to the increase in smuggling cases that have been recorded through this border crossing in the last year and the security threat posed by such practices.
The Lithuanian State Border Guard Service (VSAT) has detailed that in 2022 alone some thirty attempts to smuggle contraband across this side of the border have been intercepted in which more than 2.5 million packs of cigarettes arriving from Belarus were stopped.
Since the x-ray control system was introduced in Kena, smugglers have opted for other access routes. In operation since last year, it has already succeeded in blocking more than 672,000 cigarette packs worth more than 2.5 million euros.
The relationship between Lithuania and Belarus is not at its best. The current conflict in Ukraine is compounded by an earlier migration crisis, with the Baltic country accusing its neighbor of fuelling illegal immigration in retaliation for European Union sanctions for repression and post-election violence following the elections in which Alexander Lukashenko was re-elected.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
