{"id":177518,"date":"2026-02-27T20:25:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T17:25:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/177518\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","slug":"cigarette-smugglers-use-black-balloons-to-avoid-detection-at-night","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/177518\/","title":{"rendered":"Cigarette smugglers use black balloons to avoid detection at night"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n (Polish Border Guard)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

February 27, <\/strong>Pozirk.<\/strong> <\/em>Polish border guards have reported another incursion of weather balloons with contraband cigarettes from Belarus, noting that smugglers used black balloons to mask their activities at night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smuggled cigarettes were found during an inspection of an Audi car that travelled at high speed near the Terespol border crossing. The driver and passenger, both Polish nationals, carried illegally imported cigarettes with Belarusian excise stamps worth $8,380 in the trunk. The tobacco products were reportedly delivered to Poland by a black balloon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both suspects may face a fine and a potential prison term of up to five years if convicted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weather balloons carrying cigarettes worth $55,900 were also found near Bia\u0142a Podlaska, Bohuka\u0142y and Terespol in eastern Poland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the start of 2026, officers of the Nadbu\u017ca\u0144ski border unit have recorded 30 cases of smuggling by weather balloons, with the value of the seized cigarettes exceeding $279,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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