On June 11 and 12, in Augšdaugava and Krāslava Municipalities, border guards, in cooperation with State Police officials, detained two persons for transporting persons who had illegally crossed the state border.
On the evening of June 11, State Police officials stopped a Poland-registered Audi vehicle for inspection in Svente Parish, which was being driven by a Polish citizen. Shortly after midnight on June 12, police officials stopped a Seat vehicle for inspection in Ezernieki Parish, driven by a Latvian citizen. Upon inspecting the vehicles, officials found five persons of Asian origin in one vehicle and four in the other, located in the passenger compartments and luggage compartments. These persons did not possess valid travel documents, visas, or residence permits and had previously crossed the Belarus–Latvia border illegally.
Criminal proceedings have been 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.
Nine persons were prevented from illegally crossing the state border in accordance with Section 4 of the State Border Guard Law.
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.