Indian truck driver caught with suspected forged license in Lithuania

Lithuanian border guards apprehended a 36-year-old Indian national driving a truck with a potentially forged driver's license. The incident occurred on Friday near Kalvarija, along the Suwalki-Marijampole road, when border guards and police stopped the truck for inspection.

While the driver presented valid vehicle and personal identification documents, a temporary residence permit for Lithuania, suspicions arose regarding his Indian-issued driver's license. Border guards noted that the license, purportedly issued in April 2009 and valid for 20 years, appeared inauthentic. Initial investigations suggested the document was not manufactured according to security standards, indicating it might be a forgery.

The driver was detained and placed in a holding cell. A pre-trial investigation has been launched for document forgery or possession of a forged document. If convicted, the driver faces penalties ranging from fines and restrictions on liberty to up to four years in prison. A court on Saturday imposed a precautionary measure, requiring the driver to sign a pledge not to leave the country and surrender his documents. The truck and trailer were handed over to an authorized representative of the Lithuanian company where the driver was employed.

This incident highlights a broader trend: Lithuanian border guards have seized 169 forged documents this year, with driver's licenses accounting for nearly a third, or 50, of these cases. Belarusian drivers have presented the most fake licenses (15), followed by those from Uzbekistan (6), Ukraine (5), Latvia and Moldova (4 each), and the Philippines (3). Last year, officials identified 245 forged documents, including 97 driver's licenses, with Belarusian, Ukrainian, and Latvian citizens being the most frequent offenders.

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The driver's license was not manufactured according to the requirements for securities production, which allows us to suspect that it may be forged.