{"id":65171,"date":"2024-02-06T02:21:09","date_gmt":"2024-02-05T23:21:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.pozirk.online\/?post_type=articles&p=65171"},"modified":"2026-02-24T20:40:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:40:57","slug":"belarus-makes-tens-of-millions-by-smuggling-tobacco-into-uk-newspaper","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/65171\/","title":{"rendered":"Belarus makes tens of millions by smuggling tobacco into UK \u2013 newspaper"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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February 6, Pozirk.<\/em><\/strong> The UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) considers Belarus a major supplier of illicit tobacco to the British market, the i<\/em> reported<\/a> yesterday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to ONS figures received by the newspaper, from July 2022 to June 2023 Britain imported from Belarus \u201cbeverages and tobacco\u201d worth \u00a3161.6 million, 96 percent of all Belarusian supplies to the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, according to preliminary calculations of the statistics office, the volume of \u201cbeverages and tobacco\u201d imported from Belarus was originally estimated at \u00a3451 million for the period. The office later revised the figure downward due to the \u201cupdating of a data source\u201d tracking these shipments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the i<\/em>, the correction was linked to the closure of crossings at the Belarusian-Lithuanian and Belarusian-Latvian borders, “a key conduit for tobacco smuggling,” after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the article, Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka is called “one of Vladimir Putin\u2019s most steadfast allies” whose regime is making tens of millions on illegal tobacco sales in Britain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The newspaper noted that human rights defenders and Western governments have repeatedly accused \u0141uka\u0161enka of using his cronies as “wallets” to enrich his family and finance reprisals. It named Tabak Invest owners Pavie\u0142 Tapuzidzis and Viktar Piatrovi\u010d, under US sanctions since December 2023, as an example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On January 31, the Lithuanian customs said smuggled cigarette seizures at the Belarusian border decreased significantly to 2.5 million packs in 2023 from 4.3 million packs in 2022.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

February 6, Pozirk. The UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) considers Belarus a major supplier of illicit tobacco to the British market, the i reported yesterday. According to ONS figures received by the newspaper, from July 2022 to June 2023 Britain imported from Belarus \u201cbeverages and tobacco\u201d worth \u00a3161.6 million, 96 percent of all Belarusian […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":65160,"template":"","rubric":[16],"class_list":["post-65171","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","rubric-politics"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBelarus makes tens of millions by smuggling tobacco into UK \u2013 newspaper | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"February 6, Pozirk. 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