Customs discovered 3.5 million smuggled cigarettes in buckets filled with sawdust 0 5

The cigarettes were hidden in sealed metal buckets under a layer of sawdust, which was poured in place of the declared goods — hand washing products. In total, the cargo contained 175,100 packs of cigarettes of various brands.

On November 27, 2025, a vehicle registered in Kazakhstan entered the Paternieki customs control point from Belarus. Based on the results of a risk analysis, the vehicle was directed for inspection using X-ray equipment for cargo control. After analyzing the images, customs officials suspected that cigarettes were hidden in the metal buckets.

Customs officials at the Paternieki control point began a thorough inspection and partial unloading of the cargo. Upon opening some of the buckets and checking their contents, it was found that instead of the declared goods, sawdust was poured in them, under which smuggled cigarettes were hidden. Since signs of a criminal offense were identified during the customs control, the case materials were transferred to the State Revenue Service's Tax and Customs Police.

After the complete inspection of the cargo, 3.502 million cigarettes, or 175,100 packs of "NZ Gold," "Queen Menthol," and "Minsk Superslims" cigarettes with Belarusian excise stamps were seized. The amount of unpaid taxes to the state budget for this quantity of cigarettes exceeds 895,000 euros.

A criminal process has been initiated at the State Revenue Service's Tax and Customs Police regarding the identified criminal offense under part three of Article 190 of the Criminal Law — on large-scale smuggling.

Currently, a pre-trial investigation is ongoing in the criminal case, and in the interests of the investigation, more detailed information is not disclosed.

According to the Criminal Procedure Law, no person shall be considered guilty until their guilt in committing a criminal offense is established in the manner prescribed by the Criminal Procedure Law.