During the past weekend, from April 17 to 19, border guards, in cooperation with State Police officials, detained three persons in the Rēzekne, Ludza, and Krāslava Municipalities for transporting persons who had illegally crossed the State border. They also prevented 17 people from illegally crossing the State border.
On Friday, April 17, State Police officials, providing support to border guards, stopped a Škoda vehicle for inspection in Kaunata Parish, Rēzekne Municipality, driven by a third-country national. On Saturday, April 19, police officials in Rundēni Parish, Ludza Municipality, stopped a Peugeot vehicle driven by a Latvian non-citizen. On Sunday, April 19, in Krāslava Municipality, police officials stopped a Mercedes-Benz minibus with a self-made “taxi” sign placed behind the windshield, driven by an Estonian citizen. It was established that the Estonian citizen was driving under the influence of narcotic substances. Upon inspecting the vehicles, it was found that in one case there were four persons in the vehicle, in another case four more, and in the third case nine persons of Asian origin, all without valid travel documents, visas, or residence permits.
Criminal proceedings have been initiated against the “carriers” under Section 285(3¹) of the Criminal Law for the illegal transportation of persons across the State border during a period of enhanced border security.
The 17 persons were prevented from illegally crossing the State border in accordance with Section 4 of the State Border Guard Law.
It has already been reported that earlier this week, border guards detained four “carriers” of persons who had illegally crossed the State border, three of them were detained within a single 24-hour period.
The State Border Guard once again urges residents not to engage in illegal activities and reminds that severe penalties are prescribed for such involvement - for organizing or supporting the illegal transportation of persons, offenders may face imprisonment for a period of two to ten years, with or without confiscation of property, and with probation supervision for up to three years or without it.