Dual Citizen Caught Transporting Six Undocumented Migrants in Lithuania

Lithuanian border guards and police have detained a man holding dual Moldovan and Romanian citizenship after he was caught transporting six undocumented migrants in a car near Utena.

The incident occurred when police, acting on information from the State Border Guard Service (VSAT), stopped a "Toyota Yaris Cross" with Polish license plates on Sunday evening. The 19-year-old driver was found to be transporting six young foreign nationals. Upon arrival at the scene, VSAT officers identified five individuals as citizens of Afghanistan and one as a citizen of Pakistan.

Authorities confirmed that all six migrants had entered Lithuania from Latvia and had not sought asylum in Lithuania. The driver was subsequently detained and placed in a temporary holding facility by VSAT. A pre-trial investigation into illegal human smuggling for mercenary purposes has been initiated by VSAT's Vilnius Border Guard District, overseen by the Organized Crime and Corruption Investigation Department of the Panevėžys Regional Prosecutor's Office.

The law stipulates a penalty of a fine or imprisonment of up to eight years for such offenses. Typically, migrants apprehended under similar circumstances, often referred to as traveling the "Latvian route," are returned to Latvian authorities after necessary procedures. A court has since ordered the driver to be held in custody for three months, and the vehicle has been temporarily secured.