Latvian police seize record haul of illicit cigarettes in Riga

RIGA, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- A criminal investigation in the Latvian capital city of Riga resulted in nabbing a record-large haul of illicit cigarettes in mid-November, the Latvian State Police announced on Wednesday.

On Nov. 15, the police in Riga region seized a truck loaded with illegal cigarettes, which on the same day led to the discovery of an even larger stockpile of illicit cigarettes in a storehouse in Riga.

The cigarettes seized in the operation amounted to 22.7 million, Andrejs Sozinovs, the chief of the Riga criminal police, said, adding that this was the largest number of illicit cigarettes ever seized by the Latvian State Police.

In the course of the crackdown, officers seized 2,269 boxes with cigarettes of various brands, with the black-market value of the haul estimated at roughly 1.5 million euros (1.78 million U.S. dollars).

A 53-year-old foreign citizen was held in connection with the case, police said.

The law enforcement authorities are continuing the probe over illegal possession, transportation or distribution of large amounts of tobacco products in an organized group, which under the Latvian law is a criminal offense carrying a jail term of up to five years. Enditem