Three Poles from the border region sentenced for smuggling Belarusian cigarettes. One to prison, the others — fines
The District Court in Bialystok sentenced three men accused of participating in the smuggling of cigarettes from Belarus to Poland using meteorological balloons. The harshest sentence is 2.5 years of imprisonment. The other two received suspended sentences.
The accused are young Poles aged 22 to 26, living in the border zone. According to the prosecution, they participated in smuggling cigarettes using balloons at least several times. All three, as the court found, acted as part of an organized criminal group: their task was to receive the cargo after contact with the people who launched the balloons and provided the coordinates of the places where they landed on the Polish side.
The arrests took place in October 2025: the Border Guard and police, in a joint operation, apprehended the suspects in the border gmina of Kuźnica in Podlaskie Voivodeship. During searches, phones, SIM cards, and devices for localizing balloons were found. The case was handled by the District Prosecutor's Office in Bialystok, which merged all identified instances of such smuggling into one investigation. The charges cover the period from September 2024 to April 2025 and the smuggling of 11.5 thousand packs of cigarettes.
The harshest sentence was received by the man who had the most cargo receptions, as well as escapes from patrols during the transportation of contraband. He was sentenced to 2.5 years of imprisonment, a five-year driving ban, and a fine of about 15,000 euros. The other two received suspended sentences and fines.
According to the judge, the main defendant received an offer from a person engaged in such transfers: he drove to the designated reception points and transported packages of cigarettes to the agreed locations. For one reception, he received 250 euros, and paid his partners 25-50 euros each.
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