Weather Balloon Carrying Cigarettes Again Reaches Lithuania

On Thursday, February 12, Lithuanian border guards intercepted 1,520 packs of Belarusian cigarettes delivered to Lithuania by a weather balloon.

The balloon carrying the cargo was found in the Varėna district. A GPS tracker was attached to the package of cigarettes. A pre-trial investigation has been launched, the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service reported.

Since the beginning of the year, 45 weather balloons carrying cigarettes from Belarus have been intercepted in Lithuania (29 in January and 16 in February). The total value of the cigarettes amounts to around 540,000 euros. Twenty-two people linked to the aerial cigarette smuggling have been detained.