{"id":206269,"date":"2026-10-05T18:14:33","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T15:14:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/206269\/"},"modified":"2026-10-05T18:14:35","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T15:14:35","slug":"lithuania-intercepts-61st-cigarette-smuggling-drone-from-belarus-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/206269\/","title":{"rendered":"Lithuania intercepts 61st cigarette-smuggling drone from Belarus in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"block-image block-image-normal\">\n\n  <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1128\" height=\"752\" src=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/bespilotnik_s_kontrabandoj_sogg_1128x752.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/bespilotnik_s_kontrabandoj_sogg_1128x752.jpg 1128w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/bespilotnik_s_kontrabandoj_sogg_1128x752-354x236.jpg 354w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/bespilotnik_s_kontrabandoj_sogg_1128x752-734x490.jpg 734w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/bespilotnik_s_kontrabandoj_sogg_1128x752-178x118.jpg 178w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/bespilotnik_s_kontrabandoj_sogg_1128x752-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1128px) 100vw, 1128px\" \/>\n  <figcaption>\n  \n       <div class=\"block-image__author\">\n                <span>(vsat.lrv.lt)<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n     <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>October 5, <em>Pozirk.<\/em> <\/strong>Lithuanian border guards intercepted another drone carrying smuggled Belarusian-made cigarettes on October 3 in the \u0160al\u010dininkai district near the shared border with Belarus, the State Border Guard Service reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Border guards downed the drone using anti-drone equipment. A package attached to the drone contained 320 packs of NZ Gold cigarettes with Belarusian excise stamps valued at \u20ac1,651.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the border control agency, Lithuanian officers have intercepted 61 cigarette-smuggling drones so far this year. Lithuania reported downing 59 such drones in 2025 and 54 in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a different development, officers from the Var\u0117na border guard unit arrested Lithuanian and Polish nationals transporting smuggled Belarusian cigarettes in the Lazdijai district on October 2. Border guards pursued the BMW X3 with Lithuanian plates for about 20 kilometers after the driver failed to stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The vehicle carried 6,000 packs of NZ Gold and Minsk cigarettes and 5,000 packs of Super Slims cigarettes with Belarusian excise stamps with an estimated value of \u20ac33,000.<\/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 the incursions of smugglers\u2019 balloons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Vilnius declared an \u201cextreme situation,\u201d a low-level emergency in late 2025 in response to what it called \u201ca hybrid attack from Belarus.\u201d<\/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\/2026\/01\/radar_ekran_bradley_singleton_unsplash_1128x752-354x236.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/radar_ekran_bradley_singleton_unsplash_1128x752-354x236.jpg 354w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/radar_ekran_bradley_singleton_unsplash_1128x752-734x490.jpg 734w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/radar_ekran_bradley_singleton_unsplash_1128x752-178x118.jpg 178w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/radar_ekran_bradley_singleton_unsplash_1128x752-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/radar_ekran_bradley_singleton_unsplash_1128x752.jpg 1128w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 354px) 100vw, 354px\" \/>                        <label class=\"insert-block__tag--mobile\"> Security<\/label>\n\n                            <label class=\"insert-block__tag--mobile\"> Society<\/label>\n\n                <\/div>\n    <div class=\"insert-block__text\">\n                    <label class=\"insert-block__tag\">Security, Society<\/label>\n                <h3 class=\"insert-block__title\">Lithuania scrambles fighter jets, closes airport over unidentified flying object from Belarus<\/h3>\n        <div class=\"insert-block__descr\">October 3, Pozirk. The Lithuanian army deployed fighter jets and the Vilnius International Airport suspended operations briefly on Saturday morning after the detection of an unidentified object that had entered the Lithuanian airspace from Belarus, LRT said. Residents of eastern &#8230;<\/div>\n        <a class=\"insert-block__btn-block\" href=\"\/en\/news\/206077\">\n            <button class=\"btn\">\n                <div class='btn__text'>Read the article<\/div>\n            <\/button>\n        <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>October 5, Pozirk. Lithuanian border guards intercepted another drone carrying smuggled Belarusian-made cigarettes on October 3 in the \u0160al\u010dininkai district near the shared border with Belarus, the State Border Guard Service reports. Border guards downed the drone using anti-drone equipment. A package attached to the drone contained 320 packs of NZ Gold cigarettes with Belarusian [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":206206,"template":"","rubric":[15],"class_list":["post-206269","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","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 intercepts 61st cigarette-smuggling drone from Belarus in 2026 | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"October 5, Pozirk. Lithuanian border guards intercepted another drone carrying smuggled Belarusian-made cigarettes on October 3 in the \u0160al\u010dininkai\" \/>\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\/206269\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lithuania intercepts 61st cigarette-smuggling drone from Belarus in 2026 | Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"October 5, Pozirk. 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