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

According to the Lithuanian customs office, 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.

PHOTO: Lithuanian customs 

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.

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.