This time the incident happened in Postavy district. On August 26, 8 Vietnamese citizens were detained near the border with Lithuania, as well as a Belarusian driver who was carrying them by a Volkswagen minibus.

At the same time, another Volkswagen with two citizens of Belarus and one, Russia, a resident of Chechnya, was stopped by the border guards together with the traffic policemen. The latter were also detained as likely organizers and accomplices of illegal migration.

All the detainees were taken to the Połacak Frontier Detachment. After all the circumstances are clarified, the Vietnamese are threatened with administrative persecution, including deportation. According to the press service of the Frontier Committee, since the beginning of this year, 35 illegal migrants from Vietnam have been detained in the country.

As for the rest of the detainees, they are facing a more severe punishment for assistance to illegal immigrants – up to 7 years of imprisonment. Two cases have already been brought against two citizens of Belarus and a Russian citizen under part 2 of Article 371 of the Criminal Code.

In general, August of 2017 became hot for border guards. So, according to the data published by the Połacak Frontier Detachment, from the beginning of the year to July they during 12 episodes were detained 32 people, 11 of whom are Vietnamese. And in August the number of detentions increased sharply: the current incident near the border is already at least the fifth such case. What is it: illegal immigrants suddenly became more active, or were the border guards instructed to increase their vigilance?

Kastus Dzvinski
Photo: gpk.gov.by