The head of Lithuania's border guard complains that Latvians have replaced Belarusians

"There is a noticeable overall change in trends: the share of tobacco smuggling from Belarus is decreasing. In the coming years, Latvian (cigarettes – BNS), counterfeit tobacco products from Latvia are now predominant, and their share is even greater than that coming from Belarus," said Škarniulis on Monday during a broadcast on LRT radio. "The balance has already shifted towards counterfeit tobacco products, exceeding the share (transported – BNS) through external borders," he noted. This statement came after restrictions were imposed on the airspace over Kaunas Airport for about an hour on Sunday night due to the threat of smuggling balloons from Belarus. According to Škarniulis, the fight against this phenomenon is being conducted effectively. "Last year, about 200 people were brought to criminal responsibility only for cases related to balloons. This year we also have dozens of cases; this is our ongoing work, and it really is yielding results," said the acting head of the State Border Guard Service (SBGS). "This year, the number of balloon launches is three times lower compared to last year, and about half as many tobacco products have been delivered in this way," he noted. According to Škarniulis, this effect is achieved through preventive measures carried out by border guards in collaboration with the police and customs, as well as criminal intelligence from the SBGS and the police, and pre-trial investigations. According to the SBGS data for last week, this year 181 shipments of cigarettes delivered from Belarus by balloons have been intercepted in Lithuania. Last year, there were 635 such cases, and in 2024 – 226. This year, border guards have also downed 67 smuggler drones used to transport illegal tobacco from Belarus to Lithuania. Last year, 59 such drones were intercepted, and in 2024 – 54. Various measures are being implemented in Lithuania to combat these phenomena, including the declaration of a state-level emergency and law enforcement operations. It has been reported that border guards and police officers possibly involved in smuggling have been identified during these operations. Lithuanian leaders consider such incursions of smuggling balloons to be a hybrid attack by the Minsk regime.