A Smuggled Balloon With Belarusian Cigarettes Landed In The Center Of Vilnius

• 28.01.2026, 10:26

A man arriving to pick up a shipment injured a police officer.

A contraband balloon landed in the center of Vilnius, and the man who came to collect the cargo injured a police officer and fled, the Lithuanian Police Department said Wednesday.

According to preliminary data, at 21:00 Minsk time, police received a report that a weather balloon, presumably with smuggled cigarettes, had landed in Vilnius, on Kareivu Street, near the river, LRT reported.

A Mercedes Benz ML350 4MATIC car approached the discovered box at 22:00 Minsk time. The man who got out of the car headed for the cargo, but, noticing the police officers, ran and jumped back into the car.

Leaving the scene, the car hit a uniformed police officer of Vilnius County, born in 2000. The policeman did not seek medical assistance.

At the scene of the incident 1500 packs of "NZ Gold" cigarettes with Belarusian excise stamps were found and seized.

Because of the threat of smuggled balloons from Belarus, several flight restrictions were imposed at Vilnius Airport last night. The airspace above the airport was temporarily closed to ensure the safety of civil aviation, passengers and the public - the services recorded navigation marks, characteristic for the flights of weather balloons.