Border guards detect about 10 migrant tunnels into Lithuania

Lithuanian border guards have detected about 10 tunnels dug under the Lithuania-Belarus border this year, with the longest extending about 25 metres into Lithuanian territory, LRT reported. State Border Guard Service chief Rustamas Liubajevas said migrants are increasingly using tunnels to enter Lithuania and that Belarusian authorities may be helping them.

“This year, a new trend has been observed, with migrants more often using tunnels to enter the territory of the Republic of Lithuania,” Liubajevas told ELTA.

When tunnels are detected, migrants who have entered Lithuania through them are usually deterred or detained, while the tunnels are filled with earth, he said.

Polish border guards encountered similar activity several years ago and shared their experience with Lithuanian officers, Liubajevas said. Lithuanian surveillance systems can detect tunnel construction while it is still taking place underground. Officers then wait for migrants to emerge on the Lithuanian side and organise patrols to detain or deter them.

The State Border Guard Service has equipment for detecting tunnel construction and is testing new technologies. Last week, officers tested scanning equipment designed to detect cavities in the ground. The equipment, temporarily loaned by Polish border guards, was partly effective, and Lithuania plans to acquire similar technology.

According to Liubajevas, tunnels are usually begun in Belarus, dug beneath the border and completed as far from the border line as possible to make the moment of entry into Lithuania harder to detect.

“That is why these tunnels can be quite long. The longest one we detected was about 25 metres long in the territory of the Republic of Lithuania. It is also necessary to understand that some additional distance was on the Belarusian side, although it is very difficult to say how much. The total length of such a tunnel could apparently be about 30 to 40 metres,” he said.

The tunnels are often dug at a depth of about eight metres and reinforced with timber, Liubajevas said. He argued that the complexity of the work and the logistics required indicate that Belarusian authorities, or the regime led by Aliaksandr Lukashenka, are assisting the migrants.

“This is complicated work that requires certain skills and logistics. Timber has to be supplied to reinforce the tunnel. This once again shows that migrants are not the only ones involved in this activity, and that the Belarusian side is actively contributing, perhaps by providing logistics or allowing migrants to operate in the border area,” Liubajevas said.

He also said Lithuania was recording increasing numbers of migrants from African countries and changes in the actions of Belarusian officials who help migrants reach European Union countries.