In the Šalčininkai district, after taking control, border guards grounded a drone that had flown into Lithuania with a cargo. Smugglers lost another drone carrying 1,000 packs of Belarusian cigarettes. This year, VSAT officers guarding the state border with Belarus have intercepted 55 unmanned aerial vehicles – one more than in the entire year of 2024.
On the night from Saturday to Sunday, just after midnight, the attention of VSAT Varėna border unit officers from the Purvėnai border post, scouting the border area near the village of Daugidoniai (Šalčininkai district), was drawn to sounds coming from the Belarusian side. Such sounds are usually made by flying drones.
The border guards immediately used official anti-drone equipment in that direction.
The border guards immediately used official anti-drone equipment in that direction.
Just a few minutes later, while inspecting the likely drone crash area near the village of Daugidoniai, the border guards found a homemade drone. Attached to it was a bundle wrapped in transparent polyethylene film, containing two cardboard boxes with the logos of the “Neman” tobacco factory from Grodno (Belarus).
Inside were 1,000 packs of “NZ Gold” cigarettes with Belarusian tax stamps.
The total value of the illegal tobacco, including all mandatory taxes payable in Lithuania, is 5,510 euros.
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Administrative proceedings have been initiated at the Purvėnai border post for the acquisition and transport of excise goods in violation of the established procedure.
The smugglers’ drone and cigarettes are temporarily held at this border post.
Over more than eight months of 2026, border guards have grounded 55 smugglers’ drones.
Last year, VSAT officers intercepted 59 drones that flew in from Belarus throughout the year. In 2024, 54 drones carrying Belarusian cigarettes were grounded.
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