In September, the State Border Guard managed to intercept drug couriers near the Russian border in Balvi municipality who were attempting to bring 50 kilograms of hashish into Latvia, Latvian Television reported.
Border guards in Šķilbēni parish, Balvi municipality, identified individuals who were engaged in the illegal movement of goods towards the border. When attempting to detain them, the individuals did not comply with the border guards’ lawful demands and attempted to flee.
With the help of a dog handler and a service dog, three bags with suspected contraband goods were found approximately 100 meters from the state border.
Then, border guards stopped two vehicles on the Cērpene-Balvi road and detained two Latvian citizens – accomplices to the criminal offence – for attempting to illegally transport contraband goods.
A little later, border guards, in cooperation with State Police officials, stopped a Volkswagen Passat car in the Balvi municipality, in which the person who had transported the aforementioned bags and his accomplice were found.
“50 kilograms of drugs is a fairly significant amount. In recent years, this is the largest seizure of narcotic substances at the green border. The border guards detained four people: two who physically carried out the transport and two who were waiting to transport it further,” explained Guntis Pujāts, Chief of the State Border Guard.
Criminal proceedings have been initiated under Section 190, Paragraph 3 of the Criminal Law for large-scale smuggling.
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