Police identify Pasvalys district drone as smuggling aircraft
Wednesday 16th September 2026 on 18:45 in
Lithuania
A drone found in a forest near Keneliai village in Pasvalys district was designed to transport contraband, police said, according to LRT. The aircraft contained no explosives.
The Emergency Response Centre received a report about the find at around 1:06 p.m. on Wednesday. Forestry workers discovered the drone while inspecting areas affected by fallen trees.
It was overgrown with grass and appears to have fallen several months ago. Police said the drone was about two metres long, with a wingspan of approximately 2.5 metres.
Giedrius Bronušas, head of the Panevėžys regional division of the State Forest Enterprise, said the drone was found in a forest during routine work to prepare windthrown trees for removal and logging.
“The forester came across it among the grass,” Bronušas told LRT.lt, adding that the aircraft had retained its shape, with its wings and fuselage clearly visible.
Police spokesperson Ramūnas Matonis told BNS that photographs from the scene showed the drone looking intact rather than crashed.
The Shield plan was activated after the discovery but has since been completed. Bomb disposal specialists from the ARAS police unit and Lithuanian soldiers were sent to the scene.
The National Crisis Management Centre said earlier that the aircraft did not resemble either a Shahed or a Gerbera type drone.
Ieva Petrauskaitė, head of the Pumpėnai eldership, said the location was remote, with only a few residents and homesteads nearby. The surrounding area consists mainly of forest and farmland. Januškų Manor is located near the discovery site.