Estonia detains six suspected migrant smugglers within days

Estonia's Police and Border Guard Board, together with the Office of the Prosecutor General, announced on Tuesday, October 6, that six foreign nationals suspected of organizing illegal migration had been detained within the past few days. Alongside them, 19 foreigners who police say had entered Estonia without legal grounds were also taken into custody.

Investigators believe the suspects used cars to transport people who had no legal basis to enter the country.

A string of incidents

On October 3 in Pärnu County, police stopped a Volvo with Latvian plates driven by a 62-year-old German citizen. Seven men who identified themselves as Moroccan and Somali nationals were found inside, wearing wet, dirty clothes and carrying no documents.

On October 4, border guards at the port of Paldiski discovered three undocumented foreigners, who identified themselves as Eritrean and Ethiopian nationals, hidden in the trunk of an Audi headed for Sweden. The car was driven by a 20-year-old Ukrainian citizen holding a Swedish residence permit, whose driving licence turned out to be forged. He and a second Ukrainian citizen were detained as suspects.

On October 5 in Pärnu County, police stopped a Toyota with Lithuanian plates driven by a 22-year-old Pakistani citizen with a Lithuanian residence permit. The car also carried another Pakistani national with a Lithuanian residence permit and two undocumented Somali nationals; both Pakistani men were detained on suspicion of committing a crime.

Overnight into October 6, on the 85th kilometer of the Tallinn–Tartu–Luhamaa highway, police found seven men who had illegally entered Estonia inside a Kia Sportage with Latvian plates. The car was driven by a 63-year-old Bulgarian citizen, who was detained as a suspect.

Prosecutors stressed that organizing illegal migration is a serious crime that endangers the lives and health of the people being transported. According to investigators, the data gathered indicates the detained drivers came to Estonia solely to earn criminal income from smuggling foreigners. Since the beginning of July, Estonian police have detained 303 foreigners who entered the country illegally.