1457415

Latvia said Monday its police and border guards had seized nearly 300 million counterfeit cigarettes and arrested more than 30 people suspected in involvement in an illegal distribution network spanning borders. "This is one of the biggest such operations against illegal tobacco production over the last years in Europe," Interior Minister Rihards Kozlovskis told state television. Border guard chief Guntis Pujats told reporters the 32 people arrested included six Latvians, one Russian and several Ukrainians.