On Tuesday, Lithuanian authorities announced the arrest of 21 individuals allegedly linked to a criminal network that smuggled cigarettes using specially equipped weather balloons from allied Russia's Belarus, which violated the Baltic country's airspace in recent weeks, UNN reports with reference to AP.
Details
Investigators conducted over 80 searches, seizing, among other things, cigarettes with Belarusian excise stamps, SIM cards, signal and tracking jammers, and firearms, according to a statement from the Prosecutor General's Office of Lithuania. Luxury cars and valuable property were also confiscated.
Earlier this month, Lithuania declared a state of emergency in the country due to security risks posed by meteorological aerosols sent from Belarus.
The aerostats forced Lithuania to repeatedly close its main airport, leaving thousands stranded, and led to the closure of border crossings between the two countries, as Europe remains on high alert due to previous NATO airspace incursions during the war in Ukraine.
Tuesday's operation involved more than 140 officers from the Lithuanian Criminal Police Bureau, Vilnius police, and special anti-terrorist units.
In its statement, the prosecutor's office said that the alleged network "was characterized by very strict secrecy and division of roles, cigarette smuggling was carried out systematically, in a coordinated manner, under the strict control of its organizers (leaders) and their trusted persons."
Prosecutors claim that "the organizers could have direct contacts with accomplices operating in the Republic of Belarus, from where balloons with smuggled cigarettes were launched under favorable weather conditions."
"Using tracking equipment (GPS) and appropriate software, the movement of the balloons was controlled, and the exact coordinates of their landing in Lithuania were transmitted to the perpetrators," prosecutors said. "After collecting the contraband, the latter were supposed to deliver it to pre-agreed points or hand it over to other persons involved in the crimes."
Lithuanian authorities said that the 21 suspects will be charged with participating in a criminal organization, illegal handling and smuggling of excise goods, and assisting another state in actions against Lithuania.
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