Smugglers float cigarettes down Daugava River in tractor tires

RIGA - For the second time in a week, border guards have pulled tractor tires with contraband cigarettes from the Daugava River, the State Border Guard informed LETA.

While patrolling Piedruja Parish in Kraslava Municipality, border guards spotted a suspicious object floating downstream in the Daugava.

Using a motorboat of the State Border Guard and surveying the border along the river, the border guards found two tractor tires with bundles wrapped in black plastic. Upon checking the tires, the border guards found 62,060 NZ Gold Superslim cigarettes with Belarusian excise stamps.

The cigarettes were handed over to the State Police, which opened criminal proceedings.

Last weekend, border guards retrieved from the Daugava a similar raft with 66,120 NZ Gold cigarettes with Belarusian excise stamps.