Lithuanian authorities have detained 27 people, including 13 police and border guard officers, in a large-scale operation targeting criminal groups that smuggle contraband from neighbouring Belarus into the Baltic state using weather balloons, police said on Friday.
The suspects are alleged to have organized the scheme together with Belarusian smugglers. The 13 officials face charges of abuse of office. A total of 74 searches were carried out during the operation. There are 49 suspects in total, authorities said.
According to police, the criminal groups used GPS devices and encrypted communications to precisely track the landing sites of weather balloons and coordinate their activities. The smuggled cargo was then collected and later sold.
Authorities said the operation posed a threat to national, economic and security interests, as well as to civil aviation and public safety.
Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė said the arrest of more than a dozen officials was "very painful news for the state and society." She said the arrests showed, however, that law enforcement agencies were taking action.
Towards the end of last year, weather balloons from Belarus started entering Lithuanian airspace with increasing frequency. Smugglers typically use the balloons to illegally transport cigarettes across the border from Belarus. This repeatedly disrupted air traffic, and Vilnius airport had to be closed on several occasions.
Lithuania has been under a state of emergency since December as a result, allowing authorities and the military to respond more quickly to such airspace violations. Penalties for smugglers have also been tightened — offenders now face immediate prison sentences.