Strange Incidents Reported at Latvia's Eastern Border in the Past Month

Around the same time, Latvian border guards near the predominantly Russian-speaking city of Daugavpils in southeastern Latvia pursued two suspicious individuals lurking in the forest, who ignored repeated orders to stop. Commands of "Stop! Border Guard!" echoed through the woods, but the suspects continued running at full speed among the springtime foliage. After their commands were disregarded, border guards had to deploy a service dog. According to LSM, the situation escalated into a physical confrontation, as the migrants aggressively resisted the Latvian authorities, necessitating the use of force to subdue them.

Just days earlier, Latvian border guards had similarly been forced to fire warning shots before the migrants finally stopped. All apprehended illegal migrants are returned directly to Lukashenko's Belarus.

It appears that smugglers at the Latvia-Belarus border are now prepared to go to nearly any length. According to LSM, they use counterfeit police vans, fake border guard buses, and even trucks typically used by locals for hauling firewood.

At the beginning of April, authorities intercepted a minibus about 70–80 kilometers from the Belarusian border near Daugavpils, disguised with signage resembling that of the Daugavpils bus station. The vehicle carried fake license plates and tried blending into traffic as a regular public transportation vehicle.

The driver attempted to flee from police but was captured after a ten-minute pursuit just as he jumped from the bus. He was identified as a Ukrainian citizen. Simultaneously, at the border, an attempt by Somalis to break through a fence was thwarted.

Over the past weekend alone, Latvian border guards turned back 124 illegal migrants, with only one individual permitted to stay in Latvia on humanitarian grounds. This year, Latvian authorities have already recorded nearly 2,900 illegal border crossings.

Meanwhile, Latvian courts are deliberating punishments for smugglers. Since May, Ukrainian criminals captured during a major police operation last October have been on trial in Daugavpils. These individuals entered Latvia in three vehicles disguised as police and border guard cars, smuggling around 46 migrants from Belarus. Large police and border guard forces were deployed for their pursuit. Two vehicles were intercepted, but the occupants of the third vehicle released 24 migrants into the forest, who ultimately evaded capture.

Collected evidence indicated that these six Ukrainians successfully conducted at least one more illegal migrant crossing before their arrest. "These same individuals successfully committed a crime in September, managing to transport migrants near Riga," said Sergejs Frolovs, prosecutor of the South Latgale region.

The Ukrainians had been recruited in Poland and Germany and had no previous criminal records in Latvia.

"The prosecution's sentencing requests in such cases are strict. In my view, this can only result in actual imprisonment," Frolovs stated.

Latvian criminal law prescribes a prison term of two to eight years for individuals who illegally cross or assist others in illegally crossing the border.

Currently, most migrants breaking through the 172-kilometer Latvian-Belarusian border—which partly runs along the Daugava River and Lake Riči—are from Asia.

In mid-March, Latvia tightened restrictions at the only remaining open border checkpoint with Belarus at Pāternieki, and Latvians are prepared to close the checkpoint entirely if needed. Currently, only vehicles are allowed through, not pedestrians or cyclists.