Lithuania makes record hashish seizure, bound for Russia

VILNIUS, Lithuania – Authorities in Lithuania have confiscated 1.5 tons of hashish with an estimated street value of 20 million euros ($23 million), the largest seizure ever made in the small Baltic country.

Senior police official Linas Pernavas says the drug came from Morocco and was destined for Russia. It was hidden in a truck carrying mineral water.

Pernavas said Wednesday three people were detained — one Belarus national and two Lithuanians known to be members of a criminal gang — one of whom is the manager of a logistics company.

Though large, the seizure is dwarfed by one last month in neighbouring Latvia, where authorities confiscated a record two tons of cocaine with a street value of a billion euros ($1.15 billion).