This year, the organized movement of illegal migrants through the Latvian-Belarusian border is expected to be as intense as last year, said the head of the State Border Guard, Guntis Puyats, in an interview on the Latvian Television program "Morning Panorama" on Tuesday.
Puyats stated that after a harsh and relatively calm winter, there is already a constant pressure from illegal migrants at the border in April, so he does not expect a peaceful summer and assumes that this year will be quite tense in terms of illegal migration, with trends similar to last year’s.
The head of the border guard acknowledged that the conflict in the Middle East could increase the number of illegal migrants from that region: border guards have information that these people are being deliberately recruited to be smuggled into Europe through Russia and Belarus.
Puyats again emphasized that the overall "business" of illegal migration is well-developed, with organized crime collaborating with Belarusian officials. These migrants do not aim to reach Latvia as a safe country to seek asylum; they are primarily trying to enter the European Union to get to Germany.
This year, 18 smugglers of illegal migrants have been detained, of which ten were foreigners and eight were Latvian citizens.
In terms of infrastructure, Puyats acknowledged that the equipping of the eastern border of Latvia with technological solutions is still to be completed. The work is expected to be finished by the end of the year, which will enhance the technological capabilities of Latvian services in detecting border violators.
