Millions of smuggled cigarettes and heroin in trucks: what the Latvian customs discovered 0 10

In comparison, in the nine months of 2024, about 21.2 million cigarettes were detected, including 10.5 million illegally transported within the European Union and 10.7 million smuggled cigarettes, as well as 2230 liters of alcohol and 6280 liters of fuel.

The SGD notes that according to the law "On Excise Tax," since January 1 of this year, entry into Latvia from the territory of Russia and Belarus in a commercial vehicle is prohibited if the fuel volume in its tanks exceeds 200 liters.

In the nine months of this year, customs officers recorded non-compliance with established fuel import restrictions in 263 cases: in 87 cases, administrative proceedings were initiated, while in 176 cases, the violations were deemed minor.

Also, in the nine months of 2025, customs officers identified 43 violations related to the non-declaration or incomplete declaration of cash funds. The total amount of undeclared funds, converted to euros, exceeded 850,500 euros. In the same period last year, 44 such cases were identified amounting to nearly 837,000 euros.

Upon detecting the smuggling of narcotic and psychotropic substances based on materials submitted by the Customs Administration of the SGD, the Tax and Customs Police Department of the SGD initiated 117 criminal proceedings in the nine months of 2025.

The SGD explained that various narcotic substances in relatively small quantities are regularly detected in postal shipments, as well as with travelers arriving in Latvia. However, this year, customs officers also discovered several hundred kilograms of heroin in two trucks from Russia. In the same period of 2024, 101 criminal proceedings were initiated.

As a result of customs control this year, more than 18,850 counterfeit goods were identified in 54 cases, while in the nine months of the previous year, about 3900 counterfeits were discovered in 93 cases.