Lithuania arrests 21 in balloon-based cigarette smuggling operation from Belarus

Lithuanian authorities have arrested 21 people accused of smuggling Belarusian cigarettes into the country using weather balloons, in what prosecutors described Tuesday as a highly organized cross-border criminal network.

Lithuania says it has faced months of incidents involving meteorological and smuggler balloons that have also disrupted operations at Vilnius airport. The government briefly closed the Belarus border in late October, later reopening it after assessing that security conditions no longer required the measure.

Photo: vat.lrv.lt

The large-scale operation involved over 140 officers from Lithuania’s Criminal Police Bureau, Vilnius police, and anti-terror units. Officials conducted more than 80 searches, seizing firearms, communication jammers, SIM cards, Belarusian-stamped cigarettes, luxury vehicles, and other valuables.

Prosecutors said the smuggling operation used GPS-tracked weather balloons launched from Belarus during favorable weather. Once in Lithuanian airspace, the balloons were monitored remotely, with landing coordinates sent to accomplices who recovered and delivered the contraband to designated drop points.

All 21 suspects face charges including participation in a criminal organization, illegal handling of excise goods, smuggling, and aiding a foreign state against Lithuania.

Earlier this month, Lithuania declared a national emergency over repeated balloon incursions, which forced temporary closures at Vilnius Airport and two border crossings with Belarus.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko denounced the closures as a “mad scam” and part of a “hybrid war.” The incident comes amid heightened concern in Europe over Russian-linked drone and balloon activity, with NATO ramping up countermeasures across its eastern flank.

(jh)

Source: Euronews