Lithuania busts Belarusian cigarette smuggling operation using Balloons

Lithuanian border authorities uncovered a new shipment of smuggled cigarettes originating from Belarus on Saturday, January 31.

According to LRT, the cigarettes were found in the border zone near the city of Ignalina. The contraband had been transported using balloons, a method occasionally employed by smugglers in northeastern Lithuania.

This time, border guards noted, smugglers attempted to increase the volume of each shipment by attaching more balloons. Each batch was carried using two balloons and contained roughly 3,000 packs of cigarettes.

“Balloon-based smuggling is rare in northeastern Lithuania, but these incidents do occur,” said Gedrius Misiutis, adviser to the State Border Guard Service of Lithuania (VSAT). He added that, in contrast, a typical shipment usually travels with a single balloon and contains about 1,500 packs of cigarettes.

Authorities emphasised that the discovery highlights ongoing smuggling challenges in the border region.

By Tamilla Hasanova