Estonia to send detained illegal migrants to Latvia, minister says

Estonia has detained 128 illegal migrants this year and will send those caught to Latvia for return procedures, Interior Minister Igor Taro told ERR. Latvian authorities will then begin sending them back to Belarus.

Of those detained, 84 were caught in recent weeks. There are currently 111 people at Estonia’s detention centre, Taro said, warning that the situation could remain tense and difficult for up to several months.

Authorities detained suspected illegal migrants at a short-term rental property in Tallinn’s Nõmme district on Thursday. According to Taro, smugglers use both cheaper hotels and private accommodation.

“I would urge people to pay attention to what is happening at accommodation facilities,” Taro said, adding that the latest arrests had followed reports from alert members of the public.

He said the people who book accommodation and those who later use it may not be the same. Smugglers or their associates may arrange accommodation on behalf of migrants before another group moves in, he said.

As of Thursday, Estonian authorities had detained five suspected smugglers. Taro said that number was expected to increase.

Estonia is cooperating with neighbouring countries over the migration surge. Taro said Estonia would assist Latvia at its external border, while people detained in Estonia who had likely arrived from that direction would be sent to Latvia for further procedures.

“To prevent our detention centres from becoming overcrowded and avoid lengthy proceedings in Estonia, it is very important to return all these people,” Taro said.

Estonia and Finland have also agreed that Finnish officials will assist at Estonian ports and airports to prevent detained migrants from continuing onward from Estonia. Taro said people’s identities and countries of origin would be established in Estonia, while further procedures would take place in Latvia.

Although Taro has previously said that detention centres in Latvia were overcrowded, he stressed on Friday that this was not constant. He said the centres were continuously being partially emptied through returns, and that the process needed to continue without interruption.

Taro said there was no reason for people who had entered the European Union illegally to remain there.