{"id":196539,"date":"2026-07-21T12:28:53","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T09:28:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/196539\/"},"modified":"2026-07-21T12:28:55","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T09:28:55","slug":"lithuania-downs-another-drone-with-contraband-belarusian-cigarettes","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/196539\/","title":{"rendered":"Lithuania downs another drone with contraband Belarusian cigarettes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

July 21, Pozirk.<\/em> <\/strong>Lithuanian border guards intercepted a drone with smuggled Belarusian cigarettes in the Vilnius district on July 17, marking the 34th such incident this year, the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The downed drone carried a cardboard box with 340 packs of Minsk Capital QS cigarettes bearing Belarusian excise stamps and worth more than \u20ac1,850, it noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tensions between Belarus and Lithuania over cigarette-smuggling by air started rising last October, forcing Lithuanian authorities to close the border and suspend operations at Vilnius International Airport, located close to the Belarusian border, over incursion of smugglers\u2019 balloons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vilnius declared an \u201cextreme situation,\u201d a low-level emergency, on December 9 in response to what it called \u201ca hybrid attack from Belarus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lithuania intercepted 59 cigarette-smuggling drones in 2025 and 54 in 2024.<\/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 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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