{"id":515053,"date":"2026-02-05T10:34:59","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T07:34:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reform.news\/?p=515053"},"modified":"2026-02-05T12:25:39","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T09:25:39","slug":"polish-border-guards-detain-group-of-aerial-cigarette-smugglers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/polish-border-guards-detain-group-of-aerial-cigarette-smugglers","title":{"rendered":"Polish Border Guards Detain Group of \u201cAerial\u201d Cigarette Smugglers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Polish border guards have disrupted the activities of an organized group involved in smuggling cigarettes from Belarus using meteorological balloons. Five people were detained, including two Polish citizens, two Ukrainian citizens, and one Belarusian citizen.<\/p>\n

According to the Border Guard, investigators believe the men organized cigarette smuggling using meteorological balloons and, between September 2025 and February 2026, managed to transport at least 48,000 packs of cigarettes. The value of the contraband is estimated at 1 million zlotys, or about $230,000.<\/p>\n

Searches were carried out in Siedlce and surrounding areas, during which cigarettes and GPS devices were seized.<\/p>\n

The detainees are aged between 20 and 35. They have been charged with participation in an organized criminal group, smuggling of tobacco products, violations of air traffic rules, and violations of the Law on Special Measures to Counter Support for Aggression Against Ukraine. All detainees have been placed under arrest by a court for three months.<\/p>\n

Recently, Polish border guards also reported the detention of two Belarusian citizens for cigarette smuggling using meteorological balloons. In recent months, incidents involving balloons entering Poland from Belarus have become more frequent.<\/p>\n

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Photo: Stra\u017c Graniczn\u0430<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Photo: Stra\u017c Graniczn\u0430<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Photo: Stra\u017c Graniczn\u0430<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Photo: Stra\u017c Graniczn\u0430<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Photo: Stra\u017c Graniczn\u0430<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Polish border guards have disrupted the activities of an organized group involved in smuggling cigarettes from Belarus using meteorological balloons. Five people were detained, including two Polish citizens, two Ukrainian citizens, and one Belarusian citizen. According to the Border Guard, investigators believe the men organized cigarette smuggling using meteorological balloons and, between September 2025 and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":119,"featured_media":515052,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sharing_image":{"poster":"https:\/\/reform.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/69846218e09b7.jpg","width":1200,"height":630,"template":"691142dd","mode":"auto"},"_sharing_image_fieldset":{"dTVKfmI95PYT":"Polish Border Guards Detain Group of \u201cAerial\u201d Cigarette Smugglers"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[142339,142338],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-515053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-main","category-news"],"wps_subtitle":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515053","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/119"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=515053"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515053\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/515052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=515053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=515053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reform.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=515053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}