Lithuania turned back 38 migrants who dug a tunnel under the border with Belarus — LRT
The Lithuanian State Border Guard Service (VSAT) prevented 38 illegal migrants from entering the country after they attempted to cross the border from Belarus through a specially dug underground tunnel.
This was reported by the popular national media outlet LRT, citing official data from law enforcement agencies.
Agency officers detected the violators as they attempted to secretly enter the sovereign territory of the European Union.
The group of foreigners consisted of 36 men and two women who identified themselves as citizens of Afghanistan and Iran.
They attempted to enter Lithuania on Monday night, emerging from the tunnel in the Šalčininkai district.
Border guards immediately began pursuing the migrants through the dark forest and eventually detained them; some of the foreigners were carrying identification documents.
After completing all necessary procedures, the detainees were returned to the border.
As usual, when sending the migrants back, VSAT officers offered them humanitarian aid packages containing food and items for outdoor use.
However, most of the detainees refused to accept these aid packages from the Lithuanian side.
This incident demonstrated the systematic nature of the use of such underground engineering structures for illegal transit.
Migrants attempted to enter Lithuania from Belarus through previously dug tunnels—on April 6 in the Vilnius district and on May 6 in the Vilnius district.
The country’s security services are convinced that representatives of the neighboring state are behind the organization of these complex underground passages.
Migrants from Belarus pelted Lithuanian border guards with stones and sticks
Poland has evidence that the influx of illegal migrants at the Polish border is organized by the authorities of the Russian Federation and Belarus.
In March, more than 200 illegal migrants attempted to enter Poland from Belarus.
