{"id":175549,"date":"2026-02-13T19:32:03","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T16:32:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/175549\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","slug":"lithuania-reports-seizing-45-balloon-shipments-of-belarusian-cigarettes-this-year","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/175549\/","title":{"rendered":"Lithuania reports seizing 45 balloon shipments of Belarusian cigarettes this year"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n (Lithuania's State Border Guard Service)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

February 13, Pozirk.<\/em> <\/strong>Lithuanian border guards have intercepted 45 balloon-borne shipments of Belarusian-made cigarettes worth around 540,000 euros in total since the beginning of 2026, including 29 in January and 16 this month, Lithuania\u2019s State Border Guard Service reported on February 13.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The total number of seized packs of cigarettes has exceeded 121,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Twenty-nine shipments of cigarettes flown in from Belarus were intercepted in January and 16 starting February 1, compared with 63 shipments intercepted in January 2025 and 45 in February 2025, the report said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last such incident was recorded on February 12, when a shipment of 1,520 packs of NZ Gold and Queen Menthol cigarettes featuring Belarusian excise stamps was seized in the Var\u0117na District.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year, Lithuanian border guards have reportedly arrested 22 individuals over suspected involvement in the smuggling of cigarettes from Belarus using balloons. As many as 171 arrests were made in 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2025, Lithuania intercepted 635 balloons and 59 drones used to smuggle cigarettes from Belarus, according to the State Border Guard Service. A total of 171 people were arrested on suspicion of involvement in the aerial smuggling. As many as 226 balloons carrying cigarette shipments were intercepted in 2024, three in 2023 and none in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tensions between Belarus and Lithuania have been rising since mid-October 2025 over an influx of cigarette-smuggling balloons that have forced Lithuanian authorities to briefly close the border on several occasions and suspend operations at Vilnius Airport, located close to the Belarusian border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cigarettes cost the equivalent of about \u20ac1 per pack in Belarus and are significantly cheaper than legally sold cigarettes in Latvia and Lithuania, where prices start at around \u20ac5. Smuggled NZ-brand cigarettes can be purchased in Vilnius for about \u20ac2 per pack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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