Safety · Olecko, Elk, and Gizycko
Four Lithuanians and a Belarusian remanded over cigarette smuggling by balloon into Poland
Border Guards in Warmia and Masuria seized nearly 660,000 cigarettes that were flown in from Belarus by meteorological balloons on 20 October. A court ordered all five detained men held in custody.
AI text based on reports by Nasz Dziennik and Gazeta Olsztynka. Published . How it is made
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In brief
Border Guards seized nearly 660,000 cigarettes with Belarusian excise stamps, estimated at 680,000 zloty, after the balloons arrived on 20 October.
Four Lithuanian citizens and one Belarusian citizen were detained after coming to collect the smuggled goods, and a court ordered all five held in temporary custody.
The packages were flown across the border by meteorological balloons, which allowed the cargo to cross without conventional road transport, according to the reporting.
Prosecutors in Elk and Olecko charged the suspects with fiscal offences and with violating a law on countering support for Ukraine's aggressor, carrying a prison term of not less than three years.
The seizure
Border Guard officers in Warmia and Masuria seized nearly 660,000 cigarettes with Belarusian excise stamps, estimated at 680,000 zloty. The packages reached Poland from Belarus on 20 October, carried by meteorological balloons. Officers of the Warmian-Masurian Border Guard received warnings from the Podlasie and Nadbuzhe branches that the balloons were heading toward the region. They then found parcels in the Olecko, Elk, Gizycko and Ketrzyn districts. In one case they worked alongside police from the Olecko District Police Headquarters.
The arrests
Five men were detained in connection with the case: four Lithuanian citizens and one Belarusian citizen. According to the services, they had come to collect the tobacco products smuggled into Poland by balloon. Prosecutors in Elk and Olecko charged them with fiscal offences. They were also charged with violating a law on special measures for countering support for the aggression against Ukraine and for protecting national security. A court ordered all five placed in temporary custody. The offences they are charged with carry a prison term of not less than three years.
Method
The balloons let illegal cargo cross the border without conventional road transport, according to the reporting. The Border Guard's spokesperson, Lt. Col. Miroslawa Aleksandrowicz, announced the seizure and the arrests.
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Sources and context
- Nasz DziennikWarmia-Masuria: Four Lithuanians and a Belarusian arrested for cigarette smuggling by meteorological balloonsWarmińsko-mazurskie: Czterech Litwinów i Białorusin aresztowanych za przemyt papierosów balonami meteorologicznymi · original in Polish
- Gazeta OlsztynkaThey smuggled cigarettes from Belarus using meteorological balloons. Five people in custodyBalonami meteorologicznymi przemycali papierosy z Białorusi. Pięć osób w areszcie · original in Polish
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