Police suspects private company of illegal circulation of excise goods at Riga Central Market

RIGA - The State Police suspects that the central role in illegal circulation of excise goods at Rigas Centraltirgus (Riga Central Market) has been played by a private company that is renting a part of the territory, said State Police chief Ints Kuzis in an interview with the Latvian public television today.

Commenting on the searches conducted at the Riga Central Market last week, Kuzis said that those were the final stage of a large-scale operation. The previous such operation was conducted in 2017 with more than 100 searches and more than ten detentions. The case had been sent to the criminal prosecution, but the situation had not improved in the market.

During last week's searches, more than ten persons were detained - the Riga Central Market officials, direct merchants and representatives of the private company. Four of the detained persons were arrested, including Riga Central Market employees who ensure control in the territory, and representatives of the private company.

Kuzis also said that the police had worked on the case for a long time and had been collecting the necessary evidence.

According to Kuzis, the Riga Central Market had rented a part of its territory to a private company that was engaged in the illegal activities, while the market representative claim they are not responsible for the rented territory.