Police detain 99 illegal immigrants over two weeks

Estonia’s Police and Border Guard Board has detained 99 people over the past two weeks who are suspected of having no legal basis to remain in the country, ERR reports.

Indrek Aru, head of the Northern Prefecture’s border guard bureau, said the police view the situation primarily as a hybrid attack and that those detained are not typical migrants.

Police conduct daily checks on roads entering Estonia, as well as at Tallinn Airport and major ports. On August 4, officers detained about 10 people in central Tallinn who had no legal basis to remain in the country. They were from Somalia.

No new cases involving illegal immigrants were detected on Thursday or Friday. Aru said, however, that the migration pressure was not expected to end in the coming days.

Conflicts have emerged at the detention facility where the migrants are being held. Aru said there had been several incidents in recent weeks, although police had so far resolved them with little difficulty.

Police have also been threatened in some cases, but most incidents have involved everyday disputes. These have included confrontations, scuffles and pushing in food queues, as well as misunderstandings after one detainee ate another detainee’s food.

In some cases, police can return a person to the country from which they entered Estonia illegally within 48 hours. In other cases, the process can take several years.

Members of the public make an average of five to 10 calls a day about illegal immigrants. Aru said that while some calls were relevant, people should not assume that everyone with a different skin colour posed a problem. He advised calling police when someone appeared lost or exhausted, or when large groups appeared to be wandering.