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Russian gets 18-year sentence in Belarus for smuggling hashish

In early October 2017, a 56-year-old Russian citizen was driving a Lexus from Poland through the Bruzgi checkpoint

© Maxim Shemetov/TASS

MINSK, June 4. /TASS/. The Grodno District Court has sentenced a Russian citizen to 18 years in prison for smuggling more than 285 kg of hashish, Grodno District Court Press Secretary Pavel Vareiko told TASS on Monday.

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"The defendant was sentenced to be incarcerated for 18 years in a maximum-security penal colony in addition to his property being confiscated," the court’s representative noted.

"The sentence has not been enacted yet, and it can be appealed against in the prescribed order," the Grodno District Court press secretary noted.

In early October 2017, a 56-year-old Russian citizen was driving a Lexus from Poland through the Bruzgi checkpoint. During examination, 372 bricks of brown vegetable matter with an overall weight of more than 285 kg were discovered in a stash in the car.

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