{"id":211506,"date":"2026-11-12T12:30:31","date_gmt":"2026-11-12T09:30:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/211506\/"},"modified":"2026-11-12T12:30:34","modified_gmt":"2026-11-12T09:30:34","slug":"lithuania-seizes-e66000-worth-of-belarusian-cigarettes-smuggled-by-balloons","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/211506\/","title":{"rendered":"Lithuania seizes \u20ac66,000 worth of Belarusian cigarettes smuggled by balloons"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>November 12, <em>Pozirk.<\/em> <\/strong>Lithuanian border guards intercepted three shipments of contraband Belarusian cigarettes transported by balloons two days ago, the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The cargoes, fitted with GPS trackers, were found in the \u0160al\u010dininkai, Lazdijai and Alytus districts. They contained 12,047 packs of NZ Gold and Minsk 5 Superslims cigarettes with Belarusian excise stamps worth more than \u20ac66,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lithuanian authorities also arrested a 28-year-old man from the Trakai district on suspicion of being involved in the smuggling scheme. Since January, 71 people have been arrested in Lithuania for smuggling cigarettes by balloons, with another 31 arrests linked to suspected deliveries by drones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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 incursions of smugglers\u2019 balloons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Vilnius declared an \u201cextreme situation,\u201d a low-level emergency, in December 2025 in response to what it called \u201ca hybrid attack from Belarus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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<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\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752-354x236.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752-354x236.jpg 354w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752-734x490.jpg 734w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752-178x118.jpg 178w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pozirk_color_blank_1128x752.jpg 1128w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 354px) 100vw, 354px\" \/>                        <label class=\"insert-block__tag--mobile\"> Society<\/label>\n\n                <\/div>\n    <div class=\"insert-block__text\">\n                    <label class=\"insert-block__tag\">Society<\/label>\n                <h3 class=\"insert-block__title\">Lithuania arrests two suspected of smuggling cigarettes from Belarus by air<\/h3>\n        <div class=\"insert-block__descr\">November 4, Pozirk. Lithuanian authorities arrested two Vilnius residents suspected of smuggling cigarettes from Belarus by balloons two days ago, the Lithuanian State Border Guards Service reports. While verifying information about the contraband smuggling by balloons, officers found 3,000 packs &#8230;<\/div>\n        <a class=\"insert-block__btn-block\" href=\"\/en\/news\/210508\">\n            <button class=\"btn\">\n                <div class='btn__text'>Read<\/div>\n            <\/button>\n        <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>November 12, Pozirk. Lithuanian border guards intercepted three shipments of contraband Belarusian cigarettes transported by balloons two days ago, the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service reported. The cargoes, fitted with GPS trackers, were found in the \u0160al\u010dininkai, Lazdijai and Alytus districts. They contained 12,047 packs of NZ Gold and Minsk 5 Superslims cigarettes with Belarusian [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":211463,"template":"","rubric":[30,15],"class_list":["post-211506","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","rubric-security","rubric-society"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Lithuania seizes \u20ac66,000 worth of Belarusian cigarettes smuggled by balloons | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"November 12, Pozirk. Lithuanian border guards intercepted three shipments of contraband Belarusian cigarettes transported by balloons two days ago, the\" \/>\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\/211506\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lithuania seizes \u20ac66,000 worth of Belarusian cigarettes smuggled by balloons | Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"November 12, Pozirk. 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