Belarusian Man Tried to Bring 7 Tonnes of Radioactive Chanterelle Mushrooms into Lithuania

Reform.news Editorial Team · 3 November 2026, 21:00

https://reform.news/en/belarusian-man-tried-to-bring-7-tonnes-of-radioactive-chanterelle-mushrooms-into-lithuania/

A Belarusian man was transporting 7 tonnes of radioactive chanterelle mushrooms to Lithuania, but the shipment was turned back at the border.

The 36-year-old Belarusian citizen was crossing the border in a lorry at the Medininkai checkpoint. As the vehicle approached the border control area, stationary radiation monitoring gates were triggered.

During an additional check with a dosimeter, Lithuanian border guards detected the radionuclide caesium-137. The radiation dose rate at the surface reached 0.06 μSv/h, compared with a natural background level of 0.02 μSv/h. It turned out that the source of the radiation was more than 7 tonnes of fresh chanterelle mushrooms.

The border guards contacted Lithuania’s Radiation Protection Centre and were instructed not to allow the vehicle into Lithuania. The lorry was sent back to Belarus, the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service reported.