Smuggling balloons carrying nearly 20,000 cigarette packs hit power lines and exploded

Two balloons carrying nearly 20,000 packs of suspected smuggled cigarettes hit power lines and exploded in Kėdainiai and Kaišiadorys districts on Wednesday, the Kaunas Fire and Rescue Service said, according to LRT.

Firefighters were called to Padotnuvio village in Kėdainiai district at about 6 a.m. after reports of a fire. They found debris from a balloon burning by the roadside. Police later found 10 packages tied with rope on the road, containing an estimated 15,000 packs of suspected contraband cigarettes. No suspects have been identified. The material was handed over to the State Border Guard Service.

Modestas Tvaravičius, head of Dotnuva eldership, told the Rinkos aikštė news outlet that this was the first such incident in the area. He said the balloon had probably fallen on a farmer’s land, but he had not yet spoken with the farmer.

At about 11 p.m., firefighters were called to Šakniai village in Kaišiadorys district after a bang was heard and something was seen burning in the fields. They found a balloon carrying suspected smuggled cigarettes that had hit power lines and caught fire. Preliminary information indicated that about 4,900 packs of cigarettes were found there.