Lithuanian customs office confiscates first car with Russian number plates

The Lithuanian Customs Department confiscated the first car with Russian number plates at the Medininkai checkpoint on the Lithuanian-Belarusian border on 11 March.

Source: European Pravda, with reference to the Lithuanian customs office

Details: A Moldovan citizen arrived at the checkpoint in an Audi Q7 with Russian number plates around 23:00 on 11 March. He intended to continue his journey to Belarus, but customs officers checked his car and detained him.

A check of the driver's documents revealed that the car was owned by a Russian citizen. The driver claimed that he was unaware of the new restrictions on cars with Russian number plates.

A report on an administrative offence was drawn up against the Moldovan citizen, and the Audi Q7, which was valued at €41,690, was confiscated.

Background: 

• On 3 March, Lithuanian customs announced that vehicles with Russian number plates must leave Lithuania by 11 March. The ban applies across the entire European Union.
• There is an exception for citizens of the Russian Federation travelling in transit to or from Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast using Russian-registered vehicles with a simplified transit document. The duration of such transit through the territory of Lithuania may not exceed 24 hours.
• All Baltic countries have now banned the entry of cars with Russian number plates. Poland, Finland, Norway and Bulgaria have also introduced such bans.

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