Kaunas court hears case over 1 kg cocaine sale: defendant returned from foreign prison
L. B. (born 1962), a Lithuanian citizen, will stand trial at Kaunas Regional Court for selling cocaine as part of a criminal group in 2017. More than €344,000 has been temporarily seized in the case.
Lithuanian returns from foreign prison to face court over cocaine
Kaunas Regional Court will hear a criminal case concerning unlawful possession of a very large quantity of cocaine, according to LRT. The defendant is Lithuanian citizen L. B. (born 1962), who was detained abroad in 2018 and served a custodial sentence there for a separate criminal offence.
The Prosecutor of the Organised Crime and Corruption Investigation Department of the General Prosecutor's Office submitted the case to court. The pre-trial investigation was conducted by officers from the Organised Crime Investigation Division of the Criminal Police of the Klaipėda District Police Headquarters.
Substance of charges: 1.5 kg of powder hidden in tins
L. B. is accused of unlawfully possessing, transporting and selling approximately 1.5 kilogrammes of powder containing approximately 1 kilogramme of cocaine to V. V. in early 2017, acting as part of a criminal group with N. M. and G. B. It was agreed that the narcotics would be sold for €50,000.
According to Klaipėda District Police, the conspirators packaged the narcotic substance and hermetically sealed it using a tin-sealing machine into 6 tins. One of the group members transported them to Kaunas and handed them over to V. V. During the narcotic transfer, V. V. paid €10,000, with the remainder to be transferred after the cocaine was sold.
V. V. transported the purchased substance to his residential home in Klaipėda District for concealment purposes. In spring 2017, during a search, police officers found and seized the tins with the hidden cocaine.
Co-conspirators receive lengthy sentences, L. B. last from group
This criminal case was separated from another high-profile investigation. After separating the case involving N. M., G. B. and V. V., law enforcement concluded the proceedings earlier: in February 2023, Šiauliai Regional Court sentenced them to lengthy custodial sentences.
L. B., having returned to Lithuania after serving time in a foreign prison, was unable to evade responsibility. The man was detained and held in custody; he was later released on bail as a preventive measure.
Property rights to the defendant's monetary funds have been temporarily restricted in the case—more than €344,000 and nearly €4,000 USD.
Under Lithuanian law, unlawful possession of a very large quantity of narcotic or psychotropic substances carries a prison sentence of between 10 and 15 years.
Source: LRT