Trout seized by customs officials

Riga's customs office on Feb. 13 seized nearly two tons of trout intended for delivery to the retail chain of Lithuania's VP Market in Latvia, the Latvian State Revenue Service stated.

The fish shipment had been brought into Latvia from Lithuania by the Estonian company Urmas Must Transport. Latvian financial police and customs officials examined the shipment and established that its weight was higher than declared.

The document submitted by the driver indicated that the vehicle carried 10.5 tons of frozen trout worth $28,000, but it turned out during the examination that the consignment was heavier by 1.9 tons. The undelcared part of the consignment - worth about $5.200 - was seized.

When asked to comment on the incident, Ignas Staskevicius, managing director of VP Market, said VP Market has been cooperating with the Estonian company for three years and no misunderstandings have ever occurred before.

"This is the first incident, and we are grateful to the Latvian officials who examined the consignment and found the violations, which would have been detected upon reaching the destination anyway," Staskevicius said.

He said the incident should be regarded a technical problem which falls under the responsibility of the supplier, noting that it will not have any impact on further cooperation between VP Market and Urmas Must Transport.

Norway's Hallvard Laroy, the supplier of trout to VP Market, said the incident should be regarded as "a human error."