Fresh Estonian border team arrives in Latvia to curb illegal migration

A new unit of Estonian border guards has been deployed to Latvia to help combat illegal migration and protect the European Union’s external border, ERR reports.

The new ESTPOL11 rotation, comprising 11 officers, began work at the Latvia-Belarus border at the start of the week, replacing an Estonian team that had supported Latvia over the previous two weeks.

The officers will participate in border patrols in areas experiencing the highest migration pressure. Estonia has also provided service dogs, drones and other specialized equipment to support the operation.

Last month, Veiko Kommusaar, Deputy Director General of Estonia’s Police and Border Guard Board, said Tallinn would continue supporting Latvia as migration pressure in the region remained high.

According to Kommusaar, Latvian authorities have prevented more than 9,000 attempts to cross the border illegally so far this year.

“Our aim is to prevent a temporary migration route from developing into a permanent one. To this end, we are taking part in border patrols on the Latvian-Belarusian border together with our Latvian colleagues to prevent illegal border crossings, while at the same time working to ensure that people who have entered Estonia illegally are returned and that people smugglers and their accomplices are caught,” Kommusaar said.

By Vafa Guliyeva