Nearly a quarter of police officers detained in Šalčininkai over cigarette smuggling
During a law enforcement operation in Šalčininkai, nearly a quarter of local police officers were detained on suspicion of involvement in cigarette smuggling. A former long-serving officer at the precinct discusses the region's specific challenges.
Nearly a quarter of police officers detained in Šalčininkai over cigarette smuggling
A recent law enforcement operation in Šalčininkai, during which nearly a quarter of police officers in the district were detained, has revealed extensive cigarette smuggling schemes. Janas Kučynskis, a former long-serving Šalčininkai police officer currently working as a lawyer, claims that many people at the local level knew of possible collaboration between officers and smugglers, but did not dare to make it public.
According to him, since the restoration of independence, the Šalčininkai police have constantly faced smuggling of various goods. The geographical location near the border made this district particularly vulnerable to illegal trafficking of goods. Initially this involved sugar, alcohol, and metals, but later primarily cigarettes.
The former officer recalls that smugglers had considerable financial resources and hired the best lawyers. Despite this, those detained in almost every case would be remanded in custody. At that time, the police had limited technical capabilities — cases were typed on typewriters, yet they were required to investigate them quickly.
Kučynskis is critical of the idea of rotating police officers working in border regions. According to him, this would be expensive, would cause social problems, and quality would immediately decline. He emphasises that a local officer has intuition and can read the situation between the lines in a way that a person brought from another region cannot.
Source: LRT
Source: LRT