On Monday, June 15, in the Augšdaugava and Rēzekne Municipalities, border guards, in cooperation with officials of the State Police, detained three offenders who were transporting persons who had illegally crossed the State border.
During the past 24 hours, State Police officials stopped two Volvo vehicles for inspection in Ezernieki Parish, driven by citizens of Lithuania and Ukraine, and a Volkswagen vehicle in Skrudaliena Parish, driven by a Ukrainian citizen. Upon inspecting the vehicles, officials found four persons in one vehicle, three in another, and six in the third vehicle. These individuals did not possess valid travel documents, visas, or residence permits and had previously illegally crossed the Belarus–Latvia border.
Criminal proceedings were initiated against the “carriers” under Section 285, Paragraph 3¹ of the Criminal Law for the illegal transportation of persons across the State border, if committed during the enhanced border surveillance regime or during a State of emergency declared due to a threat to the inviolability of the State border, regardless of where in the territory of Latvia the offense was committed.
13 persons were prevented from illegally crossing the State border in accordance with Section 4 of the State Border Guard Law.
It was also established that the Ukrainian citizens were staying in Latvia without having completed and submitted the mandatory questionnaire for the prevention of threats to national security. Administrative offence proceedings were initiated in relation to these violations.
Since August 11, 2021, an enhanced border surveillance regime has been in force in certain administrative territories of Latvia. Under this regime, the National Armed Forces and the State Police provide support to the State Border Guard in ensuring surveillance of the Latvia–Belarus border in order to prevent illegal border crossings.
The vigilance of local residents and the timely provision of information about suspicious activities in border areas also play a significant role in strengthening State border security. We express our gratitude to residents who support border guards by reporting suspicious persons and vehicles.
In cases where residents observe persons or groups of persons who are not characteristic of the ethnic and national composition of the Republic of Latvia (their appearance indicates that they may be third-country nationals), they are urged to immediately inform officials of the State Border Guard or the State Police by using the unified emergency telephone number 112 (available 24 hours a day) or by contacting the operational duty officer of the Daugavpils Board of the State Border Guard at telephone number 65403777, mobile number 22020361, or email: dap.od@rs.gov.lv.