Drug-control officers of the Interior Ministry and State Customs Committee officers detained a 54-year-old resident of the Minsk region in a joint special operation.[1][2] Investigators say the man took part in organising supplies of drugs into Belarus from the Republic of Lithuania.[1][2] Fighters of the Almaz special-purpose unit provided force support for the operation.[1][2]

The load was moved in a hiding place fitted into the semi-trailer of a heavy goods vehicle.[1][2] Officers found and seized 38 kg of hashish from that hiding place.[1][2][3]

Customs opened a criminal case over the unlawful movement of drugs across the Belarusian state border.[1][2] The offence carries up to 10 years in prison, a possible penalty rather than a sentence already handed down.[1][2][3]

Customs officers found the hashish at the Kamenny Log checkpoint on the border with Lithuania.[4] A Moldovan citizen was driving the truck, which was empty and had come from Lithuania.[4][3] Twenty-two packages containing a dark-coloured substance were removed, and an examination confirmed it was hashish.[4][5] The Grodno Regional Customs Office opened the case against the organiser under Part 2 of Article 328-1 of the Criminal Code.[4] The customs committee’s statement did not disclose what happened to the driver.[4] The Interior Ministry’s official Telegram channel reported the operation.[6]

An inspection scan of the vehicle revealed a purpose-built niche in its structure.[3][5] The man was remanded in custody.[3]

The prosecutor’s office of Grodno region authorised the detention in custody of the organiser as the measure of restraint.[5]