Lithuania Law enforcement agency Agne Bilotaite said on Monday that law enforcement authorities had arrested for the first time over the weekend two nationals of the same country who tried to smuggle illegal immigrants to another European country.
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“For the first time, two Lithuanian citizens have been detained for transporting illegal migrants. These people are linked to the world of organized crime,” she told reporters.
To date, both citizens of the former Soviet bloc and relatives of migrants themselves who have already settled in European countries and are trying to help their relatives have been detained for transporting migrants, which can be punished by up to eight years’ imprisonment under the Lithuanian Criminal Code, reports the portal “Delfi.lt”, quoting data on the situation at the end of November.
On Saturday evening, a 28-year-old resident of Kaunas district and a 45-year-old resident of Jonava district were detained in Vilkaviškis district, who were transporting eight foreigners, presumably Syrian citizens, in their cars towards the Polish border.
Officials do not disclose when and under what circumstances these foreigners arrived in Lithuania.
The court allowed the detained Lithuanian citizens to be detained for two months.
“This is a lucrative illegal business, and it was only a matter of time before the Lithuanian criminal world would get involved in this illegal activity,” Deputy Minister of the Interior Ķētutis Lančinsks said.
Asked about the past of these people, Rasa Stundžiene, a representative of the prosecutor’s office, briefly replied that they had been convicted of property crimes in the past and that their convictions remained.
At the very beginning of the crisis of illegal migration, it was predicted that local criminals, especially smugglers, who are well acquainted with all forest routes between Lithuania and Belarus, would definitely turn to smuggling migrants, but this did not happen.
Giedrjus Mišutis, a representative of the State Border Guard Service, has been asked to comment on this situation.
“It is interesting that there is a great tolerance among Lithuanians for smuggled tobacco products, especially in the border areas – this is not considered to be a problem and causes great harm to the state,” he said.
“On the other hand, in the case of illegal migration, something can be described as more conscientious. People see more harm to Lithuania in it, there is much less tolerance. , “explained the Deputy Minister.
Another reason is that the expected profits from the transportation of migrants are not very high, and Lithuanians are more aware of the risks, including possible penalties. Delfi has previously written about a case in which a Georgian who worked in Poland was promised a thousand euros for smuggling people, but he was misled into saying that he would not be threatened with anything more than a fine.
“Lithuanians are better informed about the general situation, penalties and the work of law enforcement agencies,” said Mišutis. “Lithuanian citizens are better informed about the enhanced regime at the border, they know that more forces have been attracted there, an army has come to the rescue, a state of emergency has been declared. They are aware that this is a very risky occupation.”
According to data on the situation at the end of November, 12 Ukrainian citizens were the most detained for the illegal transportation of people. The other nine detainees are Georgians.
Quite often, illegal immigrants are also helped by their compatriots who have already taken root in Western European countries and obtained residence permits. Usually they do not even participate in any criminal schemes, they just rush to the aid of friends or relatives. The number of such detainees is ten Iraqi and six Syrian. “Family ties are a very strong reason,” Michutis said.
This year, the Lithuanian Prosecutor General’s Office has launched 32 pre-trial investigations against 67 suspects for smuggling people across the country, and 38 people have already been convicted.
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