In the United States, the alleged drug smugglers were arrested in Lithuania

According to law enforcement, arresting more than 34 kilograms of drugs, mainly cannabis, can reach almost a million euros on the black market.

Vilnius district prosecutor Gedvydas Vaivada spoke at a press conference on Thursday that a pre-trial investigation is being conducted into the possession of narcotic substances with and without the intent to distribute them and the smuggling of narcotic substances.

According to him, at this time, notices about the pronunciations should be given to the citizens of Lithuania. For four of them, the sums of the pretrial measures assigned to them are for the same period, for the others there are no criminal proceedings, periodic registration with the police.

All persons are 18-20 years old, one is a few years older. Persons who have not been convicted, are unemployed, some are still studying, some criminal acts, according to the prosecutor, could have been committed while they were still minors.

it was alleged that there was an increase in illegal shipments

The first shipments were noticed, started to be held for almost a year, and reached last October, said G. Vaivada.

According to Arno Ivokas, head of the Narcotics Control Department of MKT, the pre-trial investigation was started in May 2023, when shipments to the USA containing cannabis were detected at customs during the control.

The number of detections intensified during the year, later it reached even 40% of all parcels intercepted. (…) From half to several kilos and more were sent, according to A. Ivoka.

According to G. Vaivada, during the entire investigation, about 34 kilograms of narcotic substances were found, mainly cannabis, a small amount of cocaine and psychotropic mushrooms.

According to him, the value of the drug on the black market can reach around EUR 900,000. Drugs were distributed in Vilnius and the vicinity of the capital.

During the pre-trial investigation, we established that these are not individual shipments or individuals, but several groups of individuals who, coordinating and planning their actions, are sending drugs to Lithuania, added A. Ivoka.

Distribution via Telegram

According to the MKT, the investigation was complicated, because the persons suspected of smuggling were communicating on the dark internet with minimal physical contact with the drug shipments. darknet), pay with crypto-currency, for distribution through channels on the Telegram social network.

Shipments of pato disguised as legal goods with drugs were picked up at patomats. During the distribution in Vilnius, the drugs were hidden, giving the buyers secret coordinates.

In order to make it easier for buyers to find the fools, sometimes these places were taken by painting special contracted graphic elements with sprayed aerosol paints.

In the circumstances of the case, I can say that this is not a misunderstanding of what people are doing. We see that individuals are well versed in the operational methods of the police, the Customs and Criminal Service, discuss them in their conversations, and discuss sanctions. He is trying to avoid all this, says prosecutor G. Vaivada.

According to customs data, American cannabis, poorly packed in 2-2.5 kilogram packages, was intended for the domestic black market of Lithuania, where it is considered a better quality product. The street price of 1 gram of poor cannabis is about 10 euros, American cannabis is sold for 20-30 euros per gram.

Those accused of large-scale drug smuggling are threatened with imprisonment from 10 to 18 years.

Last year, the MKT officially announced that a total of 569 kilograms of narcotics were seized in Lithuania and that 96 pre-trial investigations regarding drug smuggling were initiated.

Most of the investigations (84) were started due to parcels sent by mail or through courier services. According to the MKT, most of the drugs in Lithuania are sold in the Netherlands, Germany and the USA.

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