Alytus Resident Detained While Attempting to Retrieve Cigarettes Delivered by Weather Balloon Near Belarus Border

A resident of Alytus was detained while attempting to retrieve a shipment of cigarettes delivered by a weather balloon near the border with Belarus. His movements were recorded by surveillance cameras, and a service dog tracked the man down in the forest, the State Border Guard Service of Lithuania said. He has now been granted the status of a special witness.

The incident took place at the end of January in the Čepkeliai Nature Reserve in the Varėna district. According to the State Border Guard Service, officers had prior information about the possible arrival at the border of individuals linked to “airborne” smuggling.

The man was detected by a surveillance system installed in the reserve. Due to the terrain — marshy soil and natural obstacles — it is impossible to erect physical barriers in the area, so the border is monitored by technical means. When the nearest patrol was dispatched to detain him, colleagues continued to track the suspect.

At the same time, a dog handler with a German shepherd named Andy and another border guard followed his trail through the forest. The dog found improvised straps in the snow used for carrying boxes of cigarettes. According to the service, the man discarded them after realizing the operation had failed.

An inspection of the detainee’s mobile phone revealed the coordinates of the weather balloon’s landing site. Border guards later discovered the cargo there — 1,500 packs of NZ Gold cigarettes, as well as a GPS device and remnants of the balloon.

The detainee and another man apprehended at the same location were taken to a border guard unit. A pre-trial investigation has been launched into the illegal handling of excise goods.

According to the agency, since the beginning of the year in Lithuania, 22 people suspected of involvement in “airborne” smuggling from Belarus have been detained. A total of 42 such shipments — nearly 113,000 packs of cigarettes — have been intercepted. In 2025, 171 people linked to the scheme were detained, and over the year 635 airborne shipments were intercepted — more than 1.6 million packs of cigarettes.