Lithuania plans to maintain additional forces along its border with Belarus to prevent smuggling balloons from crossing into the country, the Interior Ministry said Tuesday.
The plans were discussed at a recent meeting of Interior Minister Vladislav Kondratovič with representatives of public security services and the military, according to the ministry. Officials reviewed the current situation, measures already in place – both public and non-public – and trends observed in recent operations.
The meeting resulted in a decision to continue deploying additional personnel, implement targeted preventive measures, ensure timely information-sharing, strengthen interagency cooperation and prepare new legislative proposals. The planned legal changes would regulate the activities of mobile operators and tighten criminal liability related to smuggling, the ministry said.
Tactical actions are being planned based on weather conditions, available intelligence and analytical data, and assessed risks, the ministry added.
Between 10 and 49 patrol crews are deployed daily along the Lithuanian-Belarusian border, with the concentration of forces acting as an effective deterrent, according to the ministry.
Data show that from November 24 last year to January 19 this year, authorities deployed 1,939 units. During that period, officers checked 27,454 vehicles and 35,473 people in the border area, seized 53 smuggling balloons and intercepted about 130,000 packs of contraband cigarettes.
So far this January, 10 smuggling balloons have been seized.
Lithuanian authorities seized a total of 635 balloons carrying contraband cigarettes from Belarus last year, including 226 cases in 2024. Three such attempts were recorded in 2023, and no balloon-smuggling cases were reported in 2022.
Last year, border guards seized more than 1.4 million packs of cigarettes flown into Lithuania by drones and balloons. Authorities also detained 122 people suspected of involvement in airborne smuggling.
In early December last year, the government declared a nationwide emergency situation due to the surge in smuggling balloons. The interior minister said earlier this month that there is no need to call off the emergency regime at this stage.
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