Smugglers using weather balloons arrested

During Border Guard operations to identify individuals involved in cigarette smuggling using weather balloons, a total of four Polish citizens aged 20 to 44 and four Lithuanian citizens aged 30 to 34 were detained. The detainees were charged under the Fiscal Penal Code and the Act on Special Measures to Counteract Support for Aggression Against Ukraine and Protect National Security. The charges against them carry a minimum sentence of three years in prison.

The court ordered four Lithuanian citizens and one Polish citizen to be placed under pretrial detention for three months. The remaining three Polish citizens are under police supervision and banned from leaving the country. Additionally, administrative proceedings were initiated against all Lithuanian citizens, resulting in expulsion decisions and a five-year ban on entry to Poland.

Border security measures implemented on the Polish-Belarusian border, including physical and electronic barriers, have led smugglers to seek new ways to smuggle illegal tobacco products across the border. Recently, they have attempted to use weather balloons.

This year, Border Guard officers discovered cigarettes smuggled into Poland using devices violating Polish airspace from Belarus, with a total estimated value of over PLN 2.8 million. A total of 16 individuals involved in this illegal activity were detained.