{"id":206865,"date":"2026-10-09T15:12:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T12:12:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/206865\/"},"modified":"2026-10-09T15:12:12","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T12:12:12","slug":"lithuania-intercepts-9-shipments-of-cigarettes-from-belarus-overnight","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/206865\/","title":{"rendered":"Lithuania intercepts 9 shipments of cigarettes from Belarus overnight"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>October 9, <em>Pozirk.<\/em> <\/strong>Nine shipments of cigarettes smuggled from Belarus into Lithuania with the help of balloons were intercepted by Lithuanian border guards overnight, the State Border Guard Service reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In particular, four shipments were seized in the Var\u0117na district, three in the Kai\u0161iadorys district, one in the Ukmerg\u0117 district and one in the Panev\u0117\u017eys district.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All the packages, which contained a total of 55,000 packs, were fitted with GPS trackers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since the start of this year, Lithuanian officers have reportedly intercepted 166 shipments of Belarusian-made cigarettes smuggled into Lithuania using balloons, compared with 635 in 2025, 226 in 2024, three in 2023, and none in 2022.<\/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 incursion of smugglers\u2019 balloons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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<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\/2026\/10\/1-46289-354x236.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1-46289-354x236.jpg 354w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1-46289-178x118.jpg 178w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1-46289.jpg 721w\" 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\">Poland arrests six men suspected of involvement in smuggling cigarettes from Belarus<\/h3>\n        <div class=\"insert-block__descr\">October 9, Pozirk. Polish border guards have arrested six people, including two Belarusians, suspected of involvement in smuggling cigarettes from Belarus by air. One Belarusian man was arrested while transporting 11,000 packs of cigarettes worth more than $58,000 in the &#8230;<\/div>\n        <a class=\"insert-block__btn-block\" href=\"\/en\/news\/206864\">\n            <button class=\"btn\">\n                <div class='btn__text'>Read <\/div>\n            <\/button>\n        <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>October 9, Pozirk. Nine shipments of cigarettes smuggled from Belarus into Lithuania with the help of balloons were intercepted by Lithuanian border guards overnight, the State Border Guard Service reported. In particular, four shipments were seized in the Var\u0117na district, three in the Kai\u0161iadorys district, one in the Ukmerg\u0117 district and one in the Panev\u0117\u017eys [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":206827,"template":"","rubric":[15],"class_list":["post-206865","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 9 shipments of cigarettes from Belarus overnight | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"October 9, Pozirk. Nine shipments of cigarettes smuggled from Belarus into Lithuania with the help of balloons were intercepted by Lithuanian border\" \/>\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\/206865\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lithuania intercepts 9 shipments of cigarettes from Belarus overnight | Pozirk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"October 9, Pozirk. 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