Police find balloon carrying contraband cigarettes in Tartu County
Police recovered a large balloon carrying Belarusian contraband cigarettes near Lake Peipus in Tartu County on Sunday afternoon, following a tip from a local resident who spotted it midair.
Estonian Police's (PPA) South Prefecture operational manager Lauri Tamm said information about the flying object in Kobratu village, Tartu County, reached the Emergency Response Center from a local resident at around 4:30 p.m.
Patrols in the area responded to the information and identified the balloon, Tamm said. Officers then tracked its movement visually from the ground as well as from the air using drones. The balloon moved over the landscape to Nõva village in Peipsiääre municipality, where it landed.
The balloon's cargo consisted of two boxes wrapped in black plastic, which contained contraband cigarettes with Belarusian tax stamps. The smuggled goods were taken to the Mustvee cordon and will be handed over to the Tax and Customs Board for procedural acts, the operational manager explained.
According to the operational manager, smuggling from Belarus into Europe has not disappeared, and neighboring countries are facing a similar situation today.
When winds are favorable, goods are dispatched from there, but their direction and destination depend largely on weather conditions, Tamm noted, adding that the flight path of the balloon that landed in Tartu County is still being determined.
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Editor: Mari Peegel, Argo Ideon
