Authorities in Lithuania have arrested several people following an incident in which hot-air balloons carrying contraband forced a temporary suspension of air traffic at Vilnius Airport.
National Crisis Management Centre Chief, Vilmantas Vitkauskas, said that 10 of the 25 balloons that entered Lithuanian airspace over the weekend and disrupted flights had been recovered.
He told local radio that the search for the remaining balloons and those responsible for the operation was ongoing.
Air traffic at Vilnius was halted temporarily into the early hours of Sunday after the balloons were detected in the capital’s airspace.
Authorities said the flying objects were used by smugglers to illegally transport cigarettes across the border from Belarus.
Vitkauskas confirmed that several suspects were apprehended while attempting to recover the contraband but declined to provide further details.
Lithuania shares a 679-kilometre border with Belarus, forming part of the European Union’s external frontier. Vilnius lies roughly 30 kilometres from the border.
Border guards believe the balloons may have travelled unusually far inland due to favourable winds and the smugglers launching them from deeper within Belarus rather than directly along the frontier.
According to border police, the balloons typically ascend almost vertically and cross at high altitude, making them difficult to detect.
(NAN)