A weather balloon carrying contraband cargo was discovered in the yard of a warehouse belonging to the Maxima retail chain in Lithuania. The incident occurred early in the morning of January 28 in the town of Lentvaris on Zigmantiškių Street, Delfi reported, citing a source.
The information was later confirmed by company representatives. According to them, a weather balloon with a box attached was spotted on the warehouse premises. Employees called the police, after which the cargo was seized by law enforcement officers.
“Yes, we are aware of this incident. On the morning of January 28, a weather balloon with a cargo, possibly contraband cigarettes, was spotted on the premises of a Maxima warehouse. The police were called, and officers removed the cargo,” said Maxima spokesperson Snieguolė Valiaugaitė.
According to her, the company provided the police with all the necessary information.
“In order not to harm the investigation, we cannot comment on the incident in detail,” she noted.
The police took the cargo and handed it over to border guards. According to the State Border Guard Service, the box contained 1,400 packs of cigarettes and a GPS tracker.
A Delfi source also reported that warehouse employees allegedly detached the cargo from the weather balloon and attempted to divide the cigarettes near the loading ramp, but their actions were stopped by a security guard. Neither the police nor Maxima representatives confirmed this information, noting that an internal investigation has not yet been completed.
It should be recalled that on the night of January 27–28, the largest mass incursion of weather balloons into Lithuania since the beginning of the year was recorded — 42 balloons entered the country from Belarus. As a result, operations at Vilnius Airport were temporarily suspended.