The truck, carrying 39,200 roses, was detained by Rosselkhoznadzor officers at the Russian-Belarusian border in the Smolensk region. The flowers are banned from import into Russia.
According to the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Supervision, the vehicle was travelling from the Minsk region to Moscow. The carrier, a Belarusian citizen, attempted to hide the flowers using falsified documents that described the cargo as soft drinks.
"During an inspection of the cargo compartment, flowers were discovered that lacked phytosanitary and accompanying documents. The remaining fragments of the identification labels indicated their Armenian origin",
Rosselkhoznadzor said.
The illegal cargo was destroyed on July 23, and the carrier was held administratively liable. A ban on the import and transit of flowers from Armenia has been in force in Russia since May 22, 2026. Since June 12, the restrictions have been extended to all quarantine products from the country.
