Lithuanian authorities detain 27 in balloon cigarette smuggling ring, including 13 police and border guards

Lithuanian police have detained 27 people—among them 13 law enforcement officers—in connection with a large-scale cigarette smuggling operation using meteorological balloons, LRT.lt reported Thursday.

Deputy Police Commissioner General Marius Draudvila confirmed at a press conference that the operation, conducted this week by the Criminal Police Bureau and the Prosecutor General’s Office, targeted a network smuggling cigarettes via balloons equipped with GPS and encrypted communication devices. Those detained include 8 officers from the Šalčininkai District Police Commissariat, 2 from the Vilnius City Police, 3 from the State Border Guard Service (VSAT), and a senior municipal official.

Authorities executed 74 searches with over 100 officers involved, seizing equipment used in the smuggling scheme, including thermal imagers, drones, GPS transmitters, radio devices, face masks, and cigarette packaging tools. “Criminal group members used GPS and encrypted communications to track balloon landings, then retrieved and distributed the contraband cigarettes,” Draudvila stated.

Martynas Jovaiša, chief prosecutor of the Organized Crime and Corruption Investigation Department, clarified that the operation relates to two pre-trial investigations, one of which began in December. Detained officers are suspected of abuse of power to facilitate smuggling, as well as aiding a foreign state’s actions against Lithuania—a charge that could evolve as the investigation progresses. “If their actions aligned with the interests of hostile states, the legal qualification may extend beyond smuggling,” Jovaiša noted.

Draudvila described the issue as localized rather than systemic, emphasizing that most implicated officers were based in Šalčininkai. While none were identified as organizers, their roles allegedly included overlooking illegal activity or sharing confidential service information. Prosecutors have requested the dismissal of all detained officers, with decisions pending on further detentions.