Polish law enforcement recovered five large white balloons and ten packages of untaxed cigarettes scattered across fields in the Podlaskie Voivodeship, RMF24 reports. The balloons — several metres tall each — were found in the Łomża, Mońki, Siemiatycze, Bielsk and Białystok counties.
One package, recovered near the village of Młynnik in Łomża County, contained 3,000 packs of cigarettes bearing no Polish excise stamps, according to Konrad Karwacki of the Białystok Regional Police Headquarters. Officers are working all five sites. "We urge residents to immediately notify services of similar cases. You should not touch or independently secure such objects," Karwacki said.
The incident is not isolated. Polish Border Guard intervened in more than 200 similar cases in 2025 alone, according to RMF24. In February, Polish border officers detained eight people suspected of being part of a smuggling network operating via weather balloons. The balloons are launched from Belarus, exploiting wind currents to cross the border and deposit their cargo on the Polish side.
The method developed after Poland erected a physical barrier on its border with Belarus — a measure introduced in response to irregular migration pressure. Smugglers turned to balloons to avoid direct contact with law enforcement that ground-level border crossings would entail.
The problem extends beyond Poland. Lithuania faced a wave of similar incursions beginning in early December, with balloon landings near Vilnius Airport occurring frequently enough to threaten flight operations. The Lithuanian government declared a state of emergency in response, European Pravda notes.
