Head of Latvian Border Guard: Tunnels on the Border Were Definitely Dug with the Knowledge of Belarusian Services
Head of the Latvian State Border Guard Guntis Pujāts stated that both discovered underground tunnels on the Latvian-Belarusian border, which migrants used for illegal entry into Latvia, were built not without the knowledge of Belarusian services.
According to the Latvian official, the second tunnel, found in August in Krāslava, was particularly well-built. Its length was at least 30 meters, and its height and width were about 80 centimeters. Special supports and plywood decking were used for reinforcement. About 28 cubic meters of soil were removed during its construction.
Pujāts believes that from the Belarusian side, observers or technical means, including thermal imagers, could have monitored the work. They could have warned the builders when Latvian border guards approached the site.
The head of the border service stated that Latvia is already awaiting the appearance of the next tunnel. According to information received, underground works may again be underway on the Belarusian side, although the exact location is not yet known.
Only two such tunnels have been found in Latvia so far, while in Lithuania there are already 12. Latvian border guards believe that in both their cases, the violators were detained immediately during the first use of the tunnels.
Pujāts also noted that this year, the proportion of detained border violators, according to preliminary estimates, could have decreased to 90%. At the same time, Latvia has become one of the main directions for illegal migration, and the support of the country's Armed Forces for border guards has significantly increased only since August.
The Latvian Border Guard would also like to involve young people undergoing State Defense Service in border protection. This could provide the border guards with about 100 additional people per year, but an agreement with the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces on this has not yet been reached.
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