Migrants who fled Latvia apprehended on train to Lithuania

Lithuanian border guards apprehended three young Moroccan nationals on a train traveling from Riga to Vilnius, who were attempting to reach Western Europe. The individuals had previously sought asylum in Latvia but absconded from their accommodation center.

The border guards stopped the international train on Monday evening as part of efforts to curb illegal secondary migration through Lithuania. Among the 97 passengers, three individuals lacked documents permitting their entry and stay in Lithuania. Two men, aged 23 and 25, presented Latvian asylum seeker certificates, while a 17-year-old presented a digital photo of a similar document on his mobile phone. These documents, however, do not grant the right to travel within Lithuania.

Upon arrival at the Šiauliai train station, the three Moroccans were escorted by border guards to the Pagėgiai Border District's Šiauliai Border Post. Following an assessment of the gathered information and in accordance with Lithuanian law, the two older migrants were transferred to the Aliens Registration Center in Pabradė, and the minor was placed in the Rukla Reception Center under the Ministry of Social Security and Labour.

Initial reports suggest the migrants flew from Morocco to Belarus, then illegally crossed the border into Latvia. After seeking asylum there, they left their accommodation center, planning to travel further west from Vilnius, aiming for France or Belgium. The article points out that this tactic, seeking asylum in the first EU state and then attempting to flee to Western Europe, is common among irregular migrants. Latvia and Lithuania often serve merely as transit countries in their plans. These migrants frequently travel using smugglers or with false documents on buses, trains, cars, planes, and even ferries.