Belarusian detained at Warsaw airport for smuggling cigarettes by balloons
Officers of the Podlaskie Border Guard Unit and the Voivodeship Police Headquarters in Białystok, as part of an investigation into cigarette smuggling from Belarus to Poland using meteorological balloons, have detained four people, reports the press service of the Polish Border Guard.
On September 9, officers of the border post in Kuźnica and the economic crime department of the Voivodeship Police Headquarters in Białystok conducted a coordinated operation and detained four members of an organized criminal group.
A citizen of Belarus, suspected of organizing the shipment of cigarettes from Belarus to Poland and participating in an organized group involved in the smuggling of tobacco products, was detained by border guards at Frederic Chopin International Airport in Warsaw.
Another suspect, a Polish citizen, whom the investigation considers the leader of the criminal group, was detained at the road border crossing in Kuźnica. The prosecutor requested the court to remand both men for three months. The court granted this request, and they will be placed in pre-trial detention.
Two more members of the group, Polish citizens, were detained by officers of the economic crime department in Białystok. Other measures were chosen for them: police supervision, a ban on leaving the country, and property bonds totaling 10,000 and 20,000 zlotys (2,710 and 5,420 dollars, respectively).
The collected evidence served as the basis for charging the detainees with participation in and leadership of an organized criminal group. Investigators believe that the group members transported batches of cigarettes from Belarus to Poland by air, using meteorological balloons. After this, the smuggled cigarettes were transported, stored, and sold in Poland.
All detainees were also charged under the law on special measures to counteract support for aggression against Ukraine and to protect national security. For the actions imputed to them, they face a penalty of imprisonment for not less than three years.
The investigation has several directions. Since the beginning of the case, charges have already been brought against more than 150 suspects.
Comments
[Зрэдагавана]