A Lithuanian court has found six people guilty of smuggling 33,000 packs of cigarettes from Belarus into Lithuania with drones, among them two officers of the State Border Guard Service (VSAT), 15min reports.
According to the case, on the night of 27 October 2024 the group, working with accomplices in Belarus, flew the cigarettes across the border by drone in several trips to an agreed place in Lithuania. The cigarettes, which carried Belarusian tax stamps, were worth €148,000 including taxes. The group had found a farmhouse to store them and bought drones, controllers and communications equipment.
The two border guards, both junior specialists, made sure the area was not patrolled that night, the court found. They were fined €21,900 and €22,200 for smuggling, handling excise goods illegally and abuse of office, and four others were fined between €17,200 and €24,900. The service's own immunity board uncovered the case.
