"The Internal Security Office identified that the State Police official supported the illegal importation of goods subject to customs clearance – cigarettes without excise tax stamps of the Republic of Latvia – into the customs territory of the Republic of Latvia. At the same time, the Internal Security Office found out that the State Police official, after importing cigarettes into the Republic of Latvia, ensured the escorting of contraband transportation through a certain territory," said the IDB.
IDB officers detained the suspect, apparently while engaged in criminal activity, and non-custodial security measures have been applied, including a ban on holding a certain position in the State Police.
"In the interests of the investigation, no additional information is being provided at this time," said the IDB.
The Office of Internal Security is a state administrative institution under the direct supervision of the Minister of the Interior, whose functions include detecting, investigating and preventing criminal offenses committed by employees of subordinate institutions of the Ministry of the Interior – which in effect makes them the police of the police.
Cigarette smuggling into Latvia from Russia and especially Belarus remains a problem, with large busts of contraband a fairly regular occurrence.
