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Balloons carrying numerous packages of cigarettes have disrupted flights in Lithuania, as Lithuania's primary air hub was forced to close for hours when multiple of them drifted across the country's airspace.

Aviation Problems

The temporary shutdown led to thirty canceled flights disrupting thousands of passengers, with authorities cautioning that delays might continue throughout Monday.

National Security Measures

Authorities reported that twenty-five weather balloons were detected entering Lithuania from neighboring Belarus, with a pair of them ending up precisely above the aviation facility.

Approximately 14 of the meteorological devices launched over the weekend floated over the capital region, which is the location of Lithuania's primary metropolis and close to the frontier with Belarus.

Contraband Recovery

A minimum of 11 balloons transporting 18,000 packs of black-market cigarettes have been collected so far, though more recoveries are anticipated, according to customs agents.

Regional Smuggling Pattern

Although causing problems, representatives clarified that "Weather devices carrying illegal goods - tobacco products originating in Belarus - are nothing new in neighboring countries."

Since January, over five hundred weather devices have been observed infiltrating Lithuania from Belarus, while nearly a thousand were noted during the prior year.

Cross-Border Effects

At the same time, the border area of Poland, which similarly neighbors Belarus, has recorded more than 100 cases in which smuggled items were delivered from its adjacent country employing the balloons.

Illegal Transport Methods

In response to questions about why criminal organizations employ a approach that remains particularly vulnerable to weather factors rather than more controllable drones, representatives elaborated that "Weather devices are basic instruments used by smugglers - they are cheaper than drones for transporting cigarettes from Belarus."

Border Protection Aims

Officials added that "Our services' aim is to seize the largest possible amounts of illegal goods and to detain organisers and participants so that this activity become not financially viable and do not pose risk to commercial air travel."

International Concerns

Such border infiltrations occur during a time of growing anxiety in Europe following multiple unmanned aircraft violations that have created aviation problems across the continent.

Parallel situations in adjacent nations have led European authorities to speed up talks about strengthening air defences throughout the region.