Latvia Discovers Country's First Tunnel for Illegal Migrants from Belarus
Earlier, several such tunnels were discovered in Lithuania.
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Today, operation Vilkatis ("Werewolf") began in Latvia, as part of which all relevant services will conduct coordinated actions to limit illegal migration, Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs told journalists today, reports Delfi.lv
Last night, an underground tunnel, through which illegal migrants were being transported, was discovered near the closed border crossing point in the town of Silene. The Silene border crossing point (on the Belarusian side — Urbany) was closed in autumn 2023.
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Last week, it became known that several similar tunnels were discovered in Lithuania.
«When we tried to determine more precisely how they entered our country, this hidden tunnel was discovered, which is currently the first tunnel of its kind in Latvia,» said Latvia's Minister of Internal Affairs Jānis Dombrava.
The minister noted that an assessment of the necessary preventive measures that could be taken will be carried out.
Prime Minister Kulbergs emphasized that Russia is using Belarus for hybrid attacks, and the organization of illegal migration flows across the Belarusian-Latvian border is one of the forms of such hybrid warfare.
Kulbergs said that this is why a fence was urgently installed along the entire border. However, the elements of the border's technical equipment are not yet fully synchronized — these works must be completed by the end of the year.
The Prime Minister emphasized that the transportation of illegal migrants to Latvia is also a business and the result of the activities of organized criminal groups linked to Russia.