Balloons used for smuggling cigarettes closed Vilnius Airport

Balloons carrying thousands of packs of cigarettes have violated flights in Lithuania as the airport in Vilnius is forced to close for hours when dozens of them sailed in the country’s airspace.

The National Crisis Management Center (NCMC) told the BBC that 25 meteorological balloons have been found entering Lithuania from neighboring Belarus, two of which found themselves directly above the airport.

The airport said the braking has resulted in 30 flight cancellation affecting 6,000 passengers. He warned that there could still be a delay on Monday.

“Airspace Violations” come to A time of increased tension in Europe After a number of drones invading, suspected of being connected to Russia, they caused a break in the air traffic.

Moscow has denied any participation in the latest incidents.

Up to 14 of the meteorological balloons, fired over the weekend, sailed over the area of ​​Vilnius, home to the Lithuanian capital and near the border with Belarus, Lithuanian officials said.

Since then, at least 11 balloons have been restored, carrying 18,000 packs of black market cigarettes, although this number may increase, said the Lithuanian Border Guard Office.

Despite the interruption they caused, a NCMC spokesman said: “Balloons with smuggled loads – Belarus cigarettes – are nothing new in Lithuania, Latvia and Poland.”

So far this year, 544 balloons have been recorded in Lithuania from Belarus, he said, while 966 were last year.

Meanwhile, the northeastern region of Poland’s Poland, which also borders Belarus, has recorded more than 100 cases in which the smuggling has entered from its neighbor with the help of balloons, which are commonly used to carry weather at high altitude.

In one case last month, Polish police detained a Belarusian citizen whose car was touring cigarettes smuggled when using a balloon. It is reported that his phone was found a geolotation label related to illegal goods.

Asked why criminals use a method that is highly susceptible to time rather than much more controlled drones, the NCMC spokesman replied: “Meteorological balloons are a rudimentary tool used by smugglers -they are more expensive than the drones for transporting cigarettes from Belarus.”

He added: “The purpose of our services is to take advantage of the largest quantities of smuggling and to detain organizers and perpetrators so that this activity is unprofitable and does not pose a risk to civil aviation.”

Drones of unclear origin caused the closure of Danish airports and airspace in September. Drones were also seen over neighboring Norway and Germany, prompting European leaders to speed up discussions to strengthen air protection.

Denmark said that at that time there was no evidence to suggest the involvement of the Russian, although Moscow was accused of the worse invasion of the airspace in Poland, Estonia and Romania.

Russia or denied those more up -to -date invasions or They said they were casual As his full invasion of the nearby Ukraine continues.