Estonia, EU – Baltic States, Port

Sepper submitted a letter of resignation on Tuesday, taking responsibility for the liquor and tobacco smuggling on the minehunter Sakala discovered on Nov. 11, spokespeople for the Ministry of Defense said.

"The Navy chief has decided to resign due to the damage to reputation accompanying the unacceptable event, irrespective of where the opened criminal case and official investigation will lead up to," Hanso said. He added that an Estonian officer must be ready to take full responsibility for what is happening in his or her area of responsibility.

Sepper will continue his service in the defense forces' headquarters as a senior staff officer.

Officers of the customs department of the Tax and Customs Board found 56 cases of cigarettes and around 1,000 liters of strong liquor, all of it without revenue stamps, on the minehunter that is part of the Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1 (SNMCMG1). The officials did not reveal the country of origin of the contraband goods. The Tax and Customs Board was notified about the case by the Navy command.

The agency opened an investigation to find out to whom the illegal goods belonged and whether they were dealing with a misdemeanor or a crime. The discovered amount exceeds the maximum limit of a misdemeanor five-fold.

Since there were more than 30 people on the Sakala at the time of the check, it was being investigated to whom the liquor and cigarettes belonged, a spokesman for the agency told last week. The main objective of the investigation is to find out whether a crew member owned contraband liquor and cigarettes in an amount that would make the matter a crime, he explained.