On the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, shortly after midnight, the officers of the Gintaras Žagūnis border guard post of the VSAT Varėna border unit, monitoring the border section near the village of Norviliškės (Šalčininkai district), were alerted by a sound characteristic of drones coming from the Belarusian side.
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A portable thermal imager helped to spot the source of the sound in the sky – a drone with a rectangular cargo attached. The border guards immediately used official anti-drone equipment.
Under its influence, the drone’s flight trajectory began to rapidly descend, and soon the drone crashed near the village of Norviliškės (Šalčininkai district).
With the help of another border guard and a cynologist with a service dog, the area was blocked off.
Soon the border guards found the crashed drone with a bundle wrapped in black polyethylene film attached to it. Inside were two cardboard boxes with the logos of the “Neman” tobacco factory from Grodno (Belarus), containing a total of 1,000 packs of “NZ Gold” cigarettes with Belarusian tax stamps.
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The total value of the illegal tobacco, including all mandatory taxes payable in Lithuania, is 5,510 euros.
An administrative case was initiated at the Gintaras Žagūnis border guard post for the acquisition and transport of excise goods in violation of established procedures. The smuggler’s drone and illegal cigarettes are temporarily stored there as ownerless property.
This year, over eight and a half months, border guards have grounded 57 smuggler drones.
Last year, VSAT officers intercepted 59 drones flying in from Belarus throughout the year. In 2024, 54 drones with Belarusian cigarettes were grounded.
