Armed men from Belarus tried to smuggle migrants to Latvia. They threatened border guards and stole cameras

A group of at least 20 migrants entered Latvia from Belarus and damaged border infrastructure. The group was accompanied by armed men who threatened Latvian border guards and drove the migrants towards Latvia.

This was reported on the page of the countryʼs 10th army.

According to Interior Minister Janis Dombrava, a few hours after the incident, masked men entered Latvian territory, damaged an electrical distribution box, and stole surveillance cameras. They returned to Belarusian territory before the border guard unit arrived.

The head of the State Border Guard Guntis Puyats added that two border surveillance cameras had been stolen. He suggested that the masked men might not be representatives of the Belarusian state services, but members of an organized criminal group.

LSM writes that on October 5, the State Border Guard Service of Latvia prevented an attempt by 59 people to illegally cross the border from the Belarusian side. In total, since the beginning of the year, border guards have prevented 11 925 people from illegally crossing the border.

The countryʼs government has extended the enhanced security regime on the border with Belarus until the end of this year.

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