Lithuanian organised crime gang trial opens in Šiauliai over drug trafficking and modern slavery in Ireland
Šiauliai District Court has begun hearing a major criminal case against 33 members of an organised crime group accused of trafficking Lithuanians to Ireland and forcing them to sell drugs in conditions of modern slavery for nearly a decade.
Lithuanian organised crime gang trial opens in Šiauliai over drug trafficking and modern slavery in Ireland
Šiauliai District Court on Tuesday opened hearings in a large-scale criminal case targeting an organised crime group that allegedly operated for close to ten years. Thirty-three individuals face charges including large-scale drug distribution in Ireland and the United Kingdom, human trafficking, illicit enrichment, money laundering, document forgery, and involving a child in criminal activity, as reported by LRT.lt.
The majority of the alleged offences took place on Irish soil.
Charges were brought against 33 people, though one defendant has since died. The hearing was conducted in a hybrid format, with some participants present in the courtroom and others joining remotely. The court has postponed further proceedings until October.
The trial could not move to substantive examination because one defendant claimed not to have received the indictment and stated he did not know what he was accused of. Much of the session was devoted to procedural requests from participants. One lawyer filed a motion to remove the presiding judge from the case, citing concerns of possible bias on behalf of his client. The prosecutor dismissed the request as unfounded, and the majority of fellow defence attorneys agreed, noting there was no objective evidence of partiality. The court rejected the recusal motion.
Eight victims have filed civil claims seeking more than €80,000 in non-pecuniary damages. One participant asked the court to dismiss all claims, characterising them as an attempt to profit. Other procedural matters were also addressed during the hearing.
The accused, men and women aged 28 to 74 from various parts of Lithuania, include the alleged leader of the criminal association. They are accused of systematically recruiting vulnerable individuals — people without fixed abode, those living in extreme poverty, and individuals struggling with addiction or health issues.
According to case materials, over 100 people were transported from Lithuania to Ireland and subjected to conditions of modern slavery. Victims were exploited to distribute narcotics on the streets. Their personal documents were confiscated, and they faced psychological and physical violence, coercion to consume drugs, and were forced to commit crimes.
The case states that at least €861,000 generated from drug sales in Ireland and Northern Ireland was laundered through various transactions. Jewellery worth nearly €45,000 was also purchased with the proceeds.
The case file spans more than 300 volumes, with the indictment alone running to five volumes exceeding 1,000 pages. The court plans to question 166 witnesses and 20 victims, some of whom reside abroad.
Preliminary trial dates have been scheduled through May 2027. Currently, seven of the 32 living defendants are already serving sentences for other offences. The remaining accused are subject to measures including passport seizure, intensive supervision, written pledges not to leave the country, and restrictions on property rights.
Source: LRT