{"id":170029,"date":"2025-12-30T11:49:32","date_gmt":"2025-12-30T08:49:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/170029\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","slug":"poland-intercepts-185-cigarette-smuggling-balloons-from-belarus-in-2025","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/170029\/","title":{"rendered":"Poland intercepts 185 cigarette-smuggling balloons from Belarus in 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"block-image block-image-normal\">\n\n  <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1128\" height=\"752\" src=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/meteozond_straz_graniczna_1128x752.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/meteozond_straz_graniczna_1128x752.jpg 1128w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/meteozond_straz_graniczna_1128x752-354x236.jpg 354w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/meteozond_straz_graniczna_1128x752-734x490.jpg 734w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/meteozond_straz_graniczna_1128x752-178x118.jpg 178w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/meteozond_straz_graniczna_1128x752-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1128px) 100vw, 1128px\" \/>\n  <figcaption>\n  \n       <div class=\"block-image__author\">\n                <span>(strazgraniczna.pl)<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n     <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>December 30, <em>Pozirk<\/em>.<\/strong> Since January, Polish border guards have detected 185 cigarette-smuggling weather balloons that flew into Poland from Belarus carrying goods worth about $1.2 million, <em>strazgraniczna.pl<\/em> reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Podlasie Border Guard unit reported 135 incidents, while 50 other cases were registered in the Lublin voivodeship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On Christmas morning, approximately 60 balloons reportedly entered Polish airspace, prompting the authorities to restrict flights for civilian aircraft over the Podlasie voivodeship as a security measure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Earlier this year, weather balloon incursions caused tensions between Belarus and Lithuania, forcing Vilnius to declare an \u201cextreme situation,\u201d a low-level emergency, in response to what it called \u201ca hybrid attack from Belarus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"insert-block\">\n\n    <div class=\"insert-block__img\">\n        <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"354\" height=\"236\" src=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/meteozond_ukraina_dpsu_1128x752-354x236.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/meteozond_ukraina_dpsu_1128x752-354x236.jpg 354w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/meteozond_ukraina_dpsu_1128x752-734x490.jpg 734w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/meteozond_ukraina_dpsu_1128x752-178x118.jpg 178w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/meteozond_ukraina_dpsu_1128x752-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/meteozond_ukraina_dpsu_1128x752.jpg 1128w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 354px) 100vw, 354px\" \/>                        <label class=\"insert-block__tag--mobile\"> \u041e\u0431\u0449\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0432\u043e<\/label>\n\n                <\/div>\n    <div class=\"insert-block__text\">\n                    <label class=\"insert-block__tag\">\u041e\u0431\u0449\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0432\u043e<\/label>\n                <h3 class=\"insert-block__title\">Poland-bound balloon with smuggled cigarettes strays into Ukraine<\/h3>\n        <div class=\"insert-block__descr\">December 17, Pozirk. A weather balloon carrying smuggled Belarusian cigarettes was discovered in the Volyn region in northwestern Ukraine near the border with Belarus, Ukrainian border guards reported. The shipment contained 1,500 packs of Minsk cigarettes bearing Belarusian excise stamps &#8230;<\/div>\n        <a class=\"insert-block__btn-block\" href=\"\/en\/news\/168549\">\n            <button class=\"btn\">\n                <div class='btn__text'>Read the article<\/div>\n            <\/button>\n        <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>December 30, Pozirk. Since January, Polish border guards have detected 185 cigarette-smuggling weather balloons that flew into Poland from Belarus carrying goods worth about $1.2 million, strazgraniczna.pl reports. The Podlasie Border Guard unit reported 135 incidents, while 50 other cases were registered in the Lublin voivodeship. On Christmas morning, approximately 60 balloons reportedly entered Polish [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":170005,"template":"","rubric":[13],"class_list":["post-170029","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","rubric-society"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Poland intercepts 185 cigarette-smuggling balloons from Belarus in 2025 | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"December 30, Pozirk. Since January, Polish border guards have detected 185 cigarette-smuggling weather balloons that flew into Poland from Belarus\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/170029\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Poland intercepts 185 cigarette-smuggling balloons from Belarus in 2025 | Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"December 30, Pozirk. 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