Lithuanian court convicts two men over balloon-borne cigarette smuggling

A court has convicted two men of helping receive and conceal cigarettes flown from Belarus into Lithuania by smuggling balloons, LRT reported Monday.

The Druskininkai division of the Alytus District Court found A. J. and D. Č. guilty of smuggling and illegally possessing excise goods as members of an organised group.

According to the case records, the men worked with accomplices in Belarus and Lithuania on January 7 and 8, 2025. They received at least 2,500 packs of Belarusian-banded cigarettes, including Minsk Super Slims and NZ Gold, valued at more than 11,000 euros.

Investigators said the organised group used meteorological balloons, GPS devices and mobile communications to systematically transport varying quantities of cigarettes. The defendants received and concealed the smuggled cigarettes, passed them to other accomplices, and collected and hid equipment used in the criminal activity.

The court fined A. J. 10,000 euros and D. Č. 9,000 euros. The investigation was carried out by officers from the Varėna Border Guard Unit of the State Border Guard Service, while prosecutors from the Kaunas Regional Prosecutor’s Office presented the case in court.

The September 17 verdict can be appealed to the Kaunas Regional Court within 20 days of its announcement.