Marijuana, hashish, and methadone were seized from seven passengers of scheduled buses by canine service officers of customs authorities last week. For the transportation of drugs, citizens may face imprisonment.
There has been an increase in drug trafficking by passengers of scheduled buses at the border. Last week alone, canine service officers of the customs authorities identified seven such cases.
Marijuana, hashish, and methadone were hidden by citizens in their personal belongings. The drugs were clearly not being transported for commercial purposes, but as people say, "for personal use," forgetting that such "pleasure" can lead to imprisonment.
In one of the latest cases, a passenger of the "Riga-Gomel" bus hid marijuana in his personal belongings. The package with the drug was detected by a service dog when the citizen of Latvia was undergoing customs control.
Upon entering the territory of Belarus from Latvia, at the "Grigorovshchina" checkpoint, the man stated that he had no prohibited or restricted goods, nor goods subject to customs declaration. However, the behavior of the service dog indicated otherwise. Vitebsk customs officers conducted a search of the citizen's personal belongings, where a crumpled paper package was found, containing a green-brown substance of plant origin.
A few days later, marijuana was found in the same location on a citizen of Kazakhstan traveling along a similar route. A service dog also indicated the presence of narcotic drugs in the passenger's suitcase. The man had hidden a plastic bag with the drug in a pair of sneakers.
The fact that the citizens were transporting marijuana was confirmed by an examination conducted by employees of the Department of the State Committee of Forensic Examinations for the Vitebsk region.
Criminal cases have been initiated against all seven passengers of scheduled buses for illegal, intentional movement of narcotic drugs across the customs border of the EAEU, and the individuals have been detained.
Based on materials from Vitebsk Customs (t.350-308)