27 suspected of smuggling cigarettes from Latvia, Lithuania

A total of 27 people were accused of two separate incidents of smuggling huge quantities of cigarettes to Finland from Latvia and Lithuania during the last spring and summer this year, said Finnish Customs in a press release on Monday.

Customs and the Central Finland Police uncovered the two cigarette smuggling incidents that took place in the regions of Pirkanmaa, Kanta-Häme and Uusimaa regions.

Authorities suspect that at least 40 million cigarettes were smuggled to Finland, of which 11 million cigarettes were seized during preliminary investigations. The amount of avoided cigarette tax is as high as 16.5 million euros.

In spring 2026, Customs started a preliminary investigation on wide-scale illegal import of cigarettes. During the investigation, the authorities uncovered an intermediary storage facility in Hämeenkyrö, Pirkanmaa that housed the illegally imported cigarettes. From there, cigarettes were distributed to various regions of the country.

In a search in May, Customs seized about five million cigarettes from a property in Hämeenkyrö. The preliminary investigation revealed that six consignments of cigarettes containing about 26 million cigarettes had arrived in Hämeenkyrö from Latvia in spring 2026. The criminal activity involved tax avoidance for a total of about 10.5 million euros. The criminal proceeds sought through cigarette sales amounted to about 2.5 million euros.

“The criminal acts uncovered in the investigation took place during a relatively short time, over a few months. The considerable quantity of cigarettes imported during that time says a lot about the scope of the illegal cigarette market in Finland, something that we communicated about in September, for example. Also in this case that we have investigated, criminal activity was highly organised and systematic,” said investigation leader Tuomas Korhonen of Finnish Customs.

During the preliminary investigation, Customs cooperated extensively for example with authorities in the Baltic countries.

The case involves seven suspects, five of whom are Finns. Some of the suspects have previous criminal backgrounds.

Six persons were detained during the preliminary investigation. Two of the suspects remain detained. The case will be forwarded to the Western Finland Prosecution District for consideration of charges this month.

Meanwhile, the Central Finland Police Department is investigating the large-scale importation, distribution, and sale of cigarettes uncovered in Orivesi in June 2026.

The pre-trial investigation has identified five separate major consignments of cigarettes imported since spring 2026. The cigarettes were loaded on freight pallets, transported across multiple lorries, and concealed among legitimate cargo upon entering the country.

Within the scope of the offences investigated by the police, it has been established that 14.6 million cigarettes were brought into Finland, resulting in more than six million euros in evaded taxes. Not all shipments ended up in Pirkanmaa.

During targeted operations across several regions, police seized approximately six million cigarettes and around 600,000 euros in cash, suspected to be direct proceeds of crime. The scale of monetary turnover involved in the operation is highlighted by the banknote counters seized during premises searches, which were used to process criminal proceeds.

During the searches, police also seized firearms, ammunition, narcotics, and snus.

Police are concurrently investigating linked offences, including aggravated firearms offences, firearms offences, narcotics offences, and unlawful use of narcotics.

The preliminary investigation revealed that illicit cigarette trafficking is frequently run in the same way as drug trafficking, drawing on the same operational methods. The activity showed clear hallmarks of organised crime operating in concert to commit serious offences, including personnel organized across different operational levels, assigned spheres of responsibility both in Finland and abroad, and a network formed by multiple suspects.

The investigation established that cigarettes were distributed for sale not only in Pirkanmaa, but also in at least Kanta-Häme, Uusimaa, and Southern Ostrobothnia. Coercive measures focused on recipients of the larger cigarette consignments—who operated as wholesalers—as well as their storage facilities.

More than 20 people have been suspected in the criminal case, nine of whom were remanded in custody during the investigation. Some of the suspects remain in custody. The police have not yet reached all involved parties, and the pre-trial investigation into their actions is continuing.

The investigation also extended to the cigarettes' countries of origin. The police conducted pre-trial investigations abroad, including in Lithuania, where Finnish officers assisted local authorities on-site with coercive measures and interrogations.