Six detained in Kėdainiai over suspected balloon-smuggled cigarettes

Lithuanian border guards detained six people in Kėdainiai on Thursday on suspicion of involvement in cigarette smuggling from Belarus by hot-air balloon, LRT reported.

The operation involved officers from the State Border Guard Service’s Criminal Investigation Board and Pagėgiai Border Guard Unit, supported by its Kovas special-purpose unit.

Officers first set up an ambush near a private house in Kėdainiai. They watched two men from Šalčininkai arrive in a Lithuanian-registered Mercedes-Benz. Two other men, residents of Kėdainiai municipality, began unloading boxes of cigarettes from the car. The four did not resist when officers moved in to detain them.

Initial information indicates the cigarettes had been flown from Belarus by balloon. Officers later stopped another Lithuanian-registered Mercedes-Benz on a Kėdainiai street and detained its two occupants, residents of Šalčininkai district. They are suspected of escorting the shipment.

During a search of the house, officers found additional boxes of Belarusian cigarettes, also suspected of having been flown in by balloon. The exact number of cigarette packs seized is still being established.

The Pagėgiai Border Guard Unit has opened a pre-trial investigation into the unlawful possession of goods subject to excise duty. The offence is punishable by a fine or up to eight years in prison. A prosecutor from the Kaunas Regional Prosecutor’s Office is leading the investigation. All six detainees have been placed in detention.

During the search, officers also found white powder wrapped in a 20-euro banknote. It is suspected to be a narcotic substance and will be examined by experts.

Border guards have intercepted 181 cigarette shipments flown from Belarus by hot-air balloon so far this year, compared with 635 in all of last year and 226 in 2024. No such cases were recorded in 2022, while three attempts were recorded in 2023.

The article says Lithuania has strengthened border security and introduced measures to tackle balloon smuggling, including a state-level emergency, a joint law-enforcement task force, large-scale operations and legislative amendments. It says attempts to transport cigarettes by balloon and the number of intercepted shipments have fallen several times this year.

Smugglers also attempt to fly cigarettes from Belarus into Poland. Polish authorities have intercepted 212 such shipments this year, according to the State Border Guard Service. Lithuanian border guards have also brought down 67 smuggling drones this year; drones are also used to transport illegal tobacco products from Belarus into Lithuania.