Lexus driver detained in Madona for transporting people who illegally crossed the border

Border guards and police stopped a Lexus in Madona municipality after an operational check and found six people inside who lacked valid travel documents, visas or residence permits.

The passengers had previously crossed the Latvia-Belarus border illegally. Authorities detained them under the State Border Guard Law, while prosecutors opened criminal proceedings against the Latvian non-citizen who allegedly transported them.

The case concerns the provision of an opportunity for a large number of people, defined as more than five in one incident, to stay illegally in Latvia. The Border Guard said its operation is part of Operation Vilkatis, launched on August 11 as Latvia’s targeted and coordinated response to a hybrid threat along its eastern border.

This year, the Border Guard has opened 138 criminal proceedings against 107 people for illegally transporting migrants or helping them stay in Latvia. It cited prison sentences of four years and six months in one case and six years and one month in another. The Border Guard warned that people involved in moving migrants onward by car within the European Union could face two to 10 years in prison, with or without confiscation of property and with possible probation supervision.