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Panevėžys Regional Court has found a resident of Vilnius district guilty of stealing a night vision device from the premises of the Lithuanian Armed Forces and of unlawfully acquiring, transporting, possessing, and distributing a very large quantity of narcotic and psychotropic substances. Following the consolidation of sentences, the defendant was sentenced to 4 years' imprisonment, and the confiscation of the instrument of the crime – a smartphone – was ordered.

The court established that while on duty at the Grand Duke Algirdas Infantry Battalion of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, Andrius Stankevičius arbitrarily removed a seal, entered the storage premises using a spare key, and stole a BPS-14 night vision device, which he later sold via the social network Facebook.

Furthermore, acting through the encrypted app Telegram, A. Stankevičius acquired and distributed exceptionally large quantities of illicit drugs.

According to the case files, on January 27 and February 7, 2025, he traveled to Utena and placed dozens of drug stashes ("drops") in various public places – parks, small woodlands, garage complexes, yards of apartment buildings, and other public spaces. The convicted individual took photos of the drug stashes with his phone and sent the photos with precise GPS coordinates to customers.

Upon his arrest, police officers found more than 5.1 g of cocaine and so – called "crystals" – 74.1 g of 3 – CMC and 53.7 g of mephedrone (4 – MMC) – on A. Stankevičius, in his car, at his home, and in the stashes set up in Utena.

Assessing the gravity of the crime, the court emphasized that the defendant acted with direct intent and out of mercenary motives, while the total quantity of narcotic and psychotropic substances he unlawfully handled (acquired, transported, possessed, and distributed) exceeded the threshold for a very large quantity established in the criminal law by more than one-fifth.

A. Stankevičius admitted to distributing drugs in other Lithuanian cities as well – Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai, Alytus, Marijampolė, Tauragė, and Palanga.

Although the Criminal Code provides for 10 to 15 years' imprisonment for distributing a very large quantity of narcotic substances, the court applied the rule for imposing a lenient sentence. Consideration was given to the fact that immediately after his arrest, the defendant fully confessed, sincerely repented, helped solve the crimes, provided phone passwords, and compensated for the damage caused.

"Applying the strictest limit provided in the sanction in this specific case would clearly contradict the principle of justice. An excessively harsh sentence would not correspond to the gravity of the acts committed and the offender's conduct after the crime; however, the applied legal measures cannot be formal either, lacking a significant impact on the offender, as this would fail to achieve all the objectives of punishment," noted Judge Marius Jankauskas, who examined the case.

After consolidating the sentence for property theft (a 9-month restriction of liberty) and for drug distribution (a 4-year term of imprisonment), the court imposed a final sentence of 4 years' imprisonment.

By court decision, the defendant's iPhone 12, which was used to commit the criminal offense, was confiscated and transferred to the police, while the seized drugs will be destroyed.

The judgment has not yet entered into force and may be appealed to the Court of Appeal of Lithuania.

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