This is the largest consignment of cigarettes detained by the Lithuanian customs this year so far.

A DAF truck, driven by a Belarusian national identified by his initials A. K., tried to cross into Lithuania via the Medininkai checkpoint at around 11 p.m. on Friday. The truck's declared cargo was timber, but the customs officials found heaps of cigarette boxes hardly hidden behind two piles of wooden pallets inside the semi-trailer.

According to preliminary information, the haul contained around 1,000 boxes with a total of 500,000 packs of Belarusian-made cigarettes NZ, Minsk and Premier.

The value of the consignment, including the taxes, is put at 1.5 million euros.

A Vilnius court has issued a two-month arrest warrant for the driver.