Lithuanian Border Guard and His Dog Arrest Three Illegal Migrants in Latvia

A two-year-old German shepherd named Kroftas tracked three people who had illegally crossed Latvia’s border from Belarus and led Lithuanian border guards to their hiding places.

The crossing was detected shortly after midnight on the night from Sunday to Monday. The three people had overcome a physical barrier and moved deeper into Latvian territory. A Lithuanian border guard team soon reached the suspected location, bringing a dog handler and Kroftas.

The dog quickly found the trail and followed it through wooded and heavily marshy terrain. About 300 meters from the initial point, the team detained a man who was later identified as an Iranian citizen. Another 100 meters farther on, officers caught two more people, citizens of Iran and Pakistan.

Latvian border guards took custody of the detainees. The Lithuanian team was deployed near Daugavpils, in the Silene border post’s area of responsibility, described as one of the most difficult sections of the neighboring country’s border.

The group that arrived in Latvia on August 26 was the fifth Lithuanian border guard team sent there. It replaced officers who had spent two weeks helping Latvia manage the tense situation along its border with Belarus. The current group includes 20 officers from the Pagėgiai and Coast Guard border units, including four dog handlers with service dogs.