The daily says balloons carrying packages of cigarettes have been landing regularly on the Polish side of the frontier.
Authorities detained 29 people connected to the smuggling in 2025, including 14 Poles, 10 Belarusians, four Lithuanians and one Ukrainian.
This year, two Belarusians have been arrested in the Podlasie region after being caught collecting dropped packages.
Lt Col Katarzyna Zdanowicz, a spokeswoman for the Podlasie Border Guard, said suspects face charges under Polish tax law as well as legislation aimed at countering support for aggression against Ukraine and protecting national security.
If convicted, the suspects face a minimum of three years in prison and multi-year bans from entering the Schengen area.
Polish officials quoted by Rzeczpospolita suggest the cigarette smuggling serves as cover for Russian-backed hybrid warfare operations.
The operation is intended to test the response of Polish services to such incidents and to cause disruption.
Stanisław Żaryn, former deputy coordinator of Poland's special services, said balloons and drones crossing from Belarus are fitted with sensors and GPS devices.
"Russia and Belarus may be gathering additional information about Poland, including our capabilities to intercept such devices," Żaryn told the newspaper.
"This operation is certainly a mine of intelligence for Russia."
(ał)
Source: PAP, Rzeczpospolita