Record tonne of hashish seized on Riga–Daugavpils highway
Latvian State Police stopped a Lithuanian-plated truck near Jēkabpils on 12 March 2021 and found about 1,000 kg of hashish hidden under artificial stone slabs, the largest hashish seizure in the force's history. Two suspects were detained.
During targeted work under a previously opened criminal case, Latvian officers stopped a lorry with a semi-trailer on the Daugavpils highway near Jēkabpils on 12 March 2021 and found about 1,000 kilograms of hashish hidden inside.[1][2]The truck carried Lithuanian registration plates.[2]
The hashish, in black plastic bundles, lay concealed beneath artificial stone slabs in the trailer’s cargo.[1][2]Two people were detained: the truck’s driver, a Lithuanian resident born in 1964, and a Latvian national born in 1972 arrested at his Riga residence in a parallel operation.[1]The head of the organised-crime division called it the largest hashish cargo the State Police had ever seized, believed to be bound for eastern European markets rather than Latvia itself.[1]
Photos and video
Hashish seized in the truck stopped near JēkabpilsPhoto details
Latvia's Economic Affairs Court will continue hearing witnesses on 4 December in the trial of nine people, among them Jurijs Spiridonovs, accused of producing marijuana in indoor plantations in Spain and selling it in Latvia and Norway. Prosecutors say the group, active from 2020 to autumn 2024, laundered its earnings through bank accounts and property in Riga; four defendants remain in custody.
Latvian police detained six members of a Latvian-Lithuanian group that hid drugs in barrels buried in forests near Riga, with two more members directing activity from prison. Officers found about 36 kg of mixed drugs including marijuana and hashish plus 34 THC devices, and a court remanded five suspects in custody.
Latvian State Police detained two men, born in 1977 and 1978, on 26 August 2026 and found a Mercedes Benz truck carrying 114 kg of dried marijuana during searches in the Riga region. Both were held in custody while investigators continued work against an organised group they said the two had formed with at least two accomplices to buy, store and sell drugs.
Latvian State Police detained two men in Rīga on 8 March 2026 and found about 11 kg of cocaine and 3 kg of marijuana at one suspect's home, plus small amounts at the other's apartment. Police valued the whole haul at about €1 million and called it their largest cocaine seizure since 2019; a court refused to remand the men, applying non-custodial measures instead.
