Estonian Police Not to Actively Intervene in Queue Spot Trading at Narva Border
Interior Minister Igor Taro said police will not intervene in queue spot trading at the Narva checkpoint as it occurs in a public space, but will respond to conflicts and violations. This year, 16 reports of such trading have been received.
Estonia's Ministry of the Interior does not plan to introduce additional measures to curb the trading of queue spots at the Narva border checkpoint. Minister Igor Taro stated this in response to a request from MP Aleksandr Chaplygin.
Taro explained that the ministry and police are aware of this practice, but it takes place in a public urban space where people form a queue on their own initiative, and there are no rules governing such a queue. The Police and Border Guard Board monitors the situation from the perspective of public order and safety. Police intervene when violations or conflicts are detected.
The minister added that police also assess any information indicating possible organized crime, but currently there is no confirmation that the queue spot trading is carried out by a criminal group. According to Taro, the reports received by police regarding the Narva checkpoint, in both number and content, do not indicate a large-scale or systematic wave of violence or extortion.
In 2025, police received 46 reports of queue spot trading at the border, and 16 this year. Public order disturbances were recorded 62 times last year and 17 this year. However, Taro noted that not all these reports were directly related to the border queue, as some concerned thefts, bodily injuries, and administrative offenses.
No cases have been initiated based on reports of selling queue spots. Conflict situations were resolved by police officers who removed sellers from the queue. Taro justified the absence of permanent police patrols at the checkpoint by noting that the law does not require police to organize a pedestrian queue in a public place.
The minister emphasized that people can call 112 in case of conflicts or threats of violence, and police will respond. When asked about specific measures to stop illegal trading, Taro advised avoiding trips to Russia altogether. Police will continue with existing methods, including patrols in high-risk areas, responding to specific incidents, and regularly informing people about the difficulties of crossing the Russian border.
