Lithuanian and Latvian border security forces collaborated Thursday to apprehend a suspect attempting to cross into Latvia from Belarus. The operation, involving canine units from both countries as part of a professional exchange program, highlights ongoing challenges in patrolling the region’s borders.Authorities are investigating the authenticity of the detainee’s documents, which claim Colombian citizenship, as they work to determine the circumstances surrounding the attempted crossing. The incident occurred during a joint patrol under the Erasmus+ project.
Lithuanian border patrol officers, aided by canine units, apprehended a suspected illegal migrant who crossed from Belarus late Thursday, authorities said.
The incident unfolded as two Lithuanian canine teams – Junior Specialist Mija Šereikaitė and her German Shepherd, Galaxy, and Junior Specialist Birutė Jankevičė with Belgian Malinois, Joy – were patrolling a section of the border alongside a Latvian border guard from the Robežnieki sector of the Daugpils administration. They were directed by a watch officer to investigate a person spotted in the area.
The detainee presented documents that authorities suspect are fraudulent, claiming to be a citizen of Colombia.
As the patrol moved away from the border and onto a main road, Galaxy, a two-year-old German Shepherd, detected the individual, approaching and alerting to his presence. The man then presented documentation claiming Colombian citizenship, which is now under scrutiny.
Investigators later determined the location where the suspected migrant crossed the Latvian border from Belarus.
The Lithuanian canine teams, Šereikaitė and Jankevičė, are currently participating in a professional development exchange program in Latvia, working with the Latvian State Border Guard Service’s Daugpils administration’s Robežnieki border unit under the Erasmus+ project.
During the two-week assignment, the officers are conducting foot patrols in the “green zone” along the Latvia-Belarus border as part of a mobile patrol unit. This case underscores the ongoing challenges faced by border security forces in the region.
VSAT archyvo nuotr./Temos iliustracija: pareigūnų pajėgos pasienyje
