During the holiday weekend in late December 2025, Poland's Podlaskie Border Guard uncovered five shipments containing more than 7,000 packs of illegal cigarettes smuggled from Belarus using weather balloons. These were detected at Border Guard posts in Narewka, Kuźnica, Mielnik, Nowy Dwór, and Szudziałów, accompanied by remnants of the weather balloons used for transport. The seized cigarettes are estimated to be worth over PLN 120,000. This event is part of a larger pattern; since early 2025, authorities have recorded 135 such cigarette smuggling incidents via weather balloons, with total seizures valued at over PLN 3.4 million. Ongoing efforts focus on identifying and apprehending those involved in these smuggling networks.

During the holiday weekend in late December 2025, Poland's Podlaskie Border Guard uncovered five shipments containing more than 7,000 packs of illegal cigarettes smuggled from Belarus using weather balloons. These were detected at Border Guard posts in Narewka, Kuźnica, Mielnik, Nowy Dwór, and Szudziałów, accompanied by remnants of the weather balloons used for transport. The seized cigarettes are estimated to be worth over PLN 120,000. This event is part of a larger pattern; since early 2025, authorities have recorded 135 such cigarette smuggling incidents via weather balloons, with total seizures valued at over PLN 3.4 million. Ongoing efforts focus on identifying and apprehending those involved in these smuggling networks.