Latvian authorities have dismantled an organized illegal cigarette operation, seizing 12.8 million counterfeit cigarettes, raw materials, manufacturing equipment, firearms, and luxury assets in raids centered in the Zemgale region. The cigarettes, packaged under brands including Marlboro, Winston, and NZ, were allegedly intended for the Latvian market. Police estimate the group’s activities resulted in more than €5 million in unpaid taxes. Two men have been arrested, a third suspect remains at large, and a pretrial investigation is ongoing.
Tag: Latvia
-
Smugglers Floating New Ideas to Get Tobacco into Latvia
Authorities in Latvia say they continue to face significant volumes of illicit tobacco entering the country, with more than 44 million illegal cigarettes and over 21,000 kg of tobacco seized in 2025 alone. In the first quarter of 2026, customs officials intercepted an additional 1.37 million contraband cigarettes at border crossings, slightly down from 1.58 million during the same period the previous year, indicating continued but shifting smuggling activity.
Officials say smugglers are adapting tactics to evade detection, increasingly using waterways such as the Daugava River to float concealed shipments, including cigarettes hidden in tractor tires or wrapped in waterproof materials and guided by GPS. Previously, organized groups also deployed weather balloons to transport contraband across borders, though enforcement efforts have curtailed that method. Authorities say the shift in techniques underscores the evolving nature of illicit trade networks, which continue to exploit both land and water routes despite heightened monitoring and cross-agency cooperation.
-
Latvia Continues Plan of Raising Tobacco Taxes
Latvia has seen a dramatic rise in cigarette prices over the past decade, with the excise tax on popular brands like Winston doubling since 2017. According to an analysis by Latvian Television’s investigative program “Aizliegtais paņēmiens”, excise revenue from tobacco grew 53% between 2017 and 2025, reaching €291 million last year. The price of a pack of Winston cigarettes increased from €3 in 2017 to around €5.40 in 2025, with taxes now making up roughly 81% of the retail price. Planned further excise increases of 15% in both 2027 and 2028 could push prices near €8 per pack.
While higher excise duties have boosted government revenue, they have also raised concerns about the growth of the illegal tobacco market, as retail sales volumes fell approximately 22% over the same period. Tobacco is not domestically produced in Latvia, presenting fewer variables for authorities to weigh when considering excise policy.
-
Report: Latvia Lost €67M to Illicit Cigarette Trade
Latvia lost an estimated €67 million to the illicit cigarette trade in 2024, a 31% increase over the previous year, as reported by KPMG at the National Forum on Smuggling. The study showed that contraband now accounts for 18% of total cigarette consumption in the country, with 340 million units consumed. Belarus remains the main source of smuggled cigarettes according to the report, supplying half of the illicit market, while counterfeit products surged 40% to 140 million units.
Philip Morris Latvia public affairs head Guntars Grīnvalds warned that simplistic excise tax hikes can exacerbate smuggling rather than increase revenue. He advocated for a differentiated taxation approach: higher duties on traditional cigarettes, but lower rates for less harmful alternatives to encourage switching among adult smokers. The findings underscore the need for balanced excise and regulatory policies, as well as stronger measures against counterfeiting and illegal production, to effectively combat the growing illicit market.
-
Lithuanian Customs: Huge Increase in Counterfeit Cigarettes from Latvia
Lithuania’s State Border Guard Service says it has already intercepted half a million packs of illegal cigarettes coming into the country from Latvia, after only confiscating 111,000 illegal packs last year. Lithuanian customs officials say there has been a huge increase in the production of counterfeit cigarettes in Latvia, which are ending up on the Western European market.
“Illegal cigarette production in Latvia was particularly active last year, and the scale is really impressive as 30 truckloads were intercepted at the end of last year,” said Darius Zvironas, director general of the Lithuanian Customs Department. “Not the total amount produced, but the amount waiting to be shipped out. These are huge figures.
“The flow of such cigarettes from Latvia goes through Lithuania, mainly towards Western Europe, and some of them end up in Lithuania.”
Earlier this week, a shipment of smuggled cigarettes from Latvia worth €620,000 was intercepted in the Raseiniai District.
-
Latvia: Tobacco Sellers Look for Loopholes in New Regulations
Tobacco sellers in Latvia are reportedly looking for loopholes in the new regulations that go into effect this month, according to Euro News.
Beginning January 2025, tobacco products, including disposable vapes, refillable e-cigarettes, and nicotine pouches, cannot be sold to individuals under 20 years old, and vaping products can no longer have flavors other than tobacco. The amount of nicotine in nicotine pouches will also be reduced.
According to Latvijas Televizija, a Latvian public television channel, companies selling refill cartridges are looking for ways to circumvent the new rules and continue selling the same products—some are planning to sell separate bottles of flavoring and nicotine that customers can mix themselves.
“Certainly, after the new year, there will be alternatives that can be offered to the client, but they will not have such a wide range. Let’s increase the range bit by bit and, after some time, it will definitely be bigger,” said Jakaterina Smirnova, representative of e-cigarette company Ecodumas.
“I assume that, similarly to other products, relatives and friends who travel will be able to bring them [the banned products] from abroad. Like all illegal things, Telegram trading will probably also develop. And it’s hard to stop,” said Anrijs Matiss, a board member of the Traditional and Smokeless Tobacco Products Association.
The association estimates a state budget loss of €10 million annually following the new laws.
The nicotine pouch industry expects that products will disappear from retail shelves, at least temporarily.
-
Illegal Cigarette Factory Dismantled in Latvia
Photo: Europol Latvian authorities dismantled a large illegal cigarette factory last week.
The massive illegal manufacturing site was fully equipped with production machinery and raw materials. Police detained 32 people and seized nearly 300 million cigarettes, along with approximately 47 tons of leaf tobacco.
If the cigarettes had entered the market, they would have deprived the Latvian state of more than €75 million in revenues, according to authorities.
Searches were conducted simultaneously at multiple locations. Police carried out 26 searches in Riga, discovering warehouses containing cigarettes and detaining seven individuals, including six Latvian and one Russian national.
Meanwhile, the state border guard carried conducted eight searches in Ludza, Rēzekne and Daugavpils, detaining 25 Ukrainian nationals at the Ludza factory, where counterfeit cigarettes were being manufactured under well-known brand names.
The investigation was supported by Europol, which provided analytical support, and the Lithuanian Customs Criminal Service.
-
Latvia to Raise Liquid Tax by 21 Percent Yearly
Photo: alexlmx Latvia will increase excise taxes on e-liquids by an average of 21 percent annually until 2026. The excise tax rates on heated-tobacco products and combustible cigarettes are set to increase by 5 percent and 5.6 percent every year, respectively.
Meanwhile, the tax on other “tobacco substitute” products, including nicotine pouches, will rise by 10 percent.
Tobacco harm reduction advocates warned that the measure would negatively impact Latvia’s efforts to curb smoking by making safer alternatives less attractive.
“Increasing the taxation of safer nicotine products will discourage smokers from switching and push users back to smoking,” said Alberto Gomez Hernandez, community manager of the World Vapers’ Alliance, in a statement.
“The international evidence has shown that increasing taxation of e-cigarettes and e-liquids has always led to an increase in smoking, particularly among young adults and low-income groups.
“Latvia should follow the steps of countries that are successfully reducing smoking rates by encouraging smokers to switch, such as the United Kingdom and Sweden, instead of making it more costly for them.”
-
Latvian Vapers Petition to Retain Flavors
Photo: niyazz More than 10,000 citizens have signed a petition to keep e-cigarette flavors legal in Latvia, reports the Baltic News Network. Because the initiative has received the legally required number of signatures, it is entitled to a review by Latvia’s parliament, the Saeima.
Rather than banning flavors, the petition urges Latvia’s government to crack down on illegal vape sales and educate society about healthy choices.
According to the Tobacco-Free Products Association, the vaping industry targets smokers aiming to quit cigarettes, which are believed to be far more harmful than e-cigarettes.
According to Toms Lusis, the author of the initiative, Latvian legislators’ attitudes toward vapor products are based on outdated beliefs and studies.
“The latest scientific data shows that e-cigarettes are up to 95 percent less dangerous for human health than regular cigarettes,” he said. “The use of e-cigarettes [is] supported as a way out of sorts for residents to stop using tobacco products as well as radically combat the widely spread smoking-related diseases like lung cancer.”
Lusis cautioned that by denying adults the freedom of choice when it comes to e-cigarette flavors, the state could also lose considerable revenue from excise tax on flavored e-cigarette liquids.