A small uncontrolled balloon was spotted within the territory of Vilnius Airport on Saturday evening and fell down with its cargo of contraband cigarettes.
The balloon was spotted at around 23:45 on Saturday.
The airport’s special services, the police and Lithuania’s anti-terrorism police unit ARAS were informed about the discovery, Lietuvos Oro Uostai (Lithuanian Airports, LTOU), the airport operator, reported on Sunday.
The balloon was reportedly removed and taken by officers for further investigation.
Loreta Kairienė, spokeswoman for Vilnius District Police, told BNS on Sunday that, according to initial information, the balloon was flying over Vilnius Airport and exploded, dropping a black box into the airport’s territory.
It was wrapped in black foil, with a gap showing Minsk cigarette packets.
The cargo contained 1,250 packs of two types of Belarusian cigarettes and was taken over by customs officers, Giedrius Mišutis, spokesman for the State Border Guard Service, told BNS.
According to him, border guards have been spotting weather balloons or drones with small contraband cargo crossing from Belarus to Lithuania almost every day ever since Lithuania erected fences along its border.
According to LTOU, airport operations and flights were not affected by this incident.
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