Sudanese man detained in Lithuania again with fake Belgian ID

Lithuanian border guards detained a 34-year-old Sudanese national on a train from Latvia after he allegedly presented a forged Belgian identity card, LRT reported.

Officials from the State Border Guard Service and the Migration Department checked the Riga to Vilnius international train on Wednesday evening as it travelled between Joniskis and Siauliai. They became suspicious when the man showed a Belgian identity card issued in the name of a person born in Sudan.

A detailed inspection found that the document had not been produced according to the requirements for security documents and was considered a complete forgery. The man was taken off the train, detained and brought to a detention facility.

During the investigation, border guards found that the same man had already been detained in Lithuania in June. At the time, he was among irregular migrants travelling in a car driven by a Latvian national. He had no identity documents and was handed over to Latvian border guards, where he applied for asylum.

He was housed at the Mucenieki accommodation centre for asylum seekers near Latvia’s capital but left without permission after obtaining the forged Belgian document. He then boarded a train in Riga.

Initial information indicates that the man had flown to Belarus and illegally crossed the border into Latvia before travelling through Lithuania. He reportedly intended to continue west, reaching France or Belgium.

The State Border Guard Service has opened a pre-trial investigation into the forgery or possession of a forged document under the supervision of a prosecutor. The offence carries a fine, restriction of liberty, arrest or imprisonment of up to four years. Authorities have decided to conclude the investigation with a penal order.

The suspect will be handed over to migration officials, who will return him to the Latvian asylum-seeker centre. Lithuanian border guards normally return irregular migrants detained on the so-called Latvian route to their Latvian counterparts after completing the necessary procedures.

Secondary migration flows from Latvia have increased this year. Lithuania recorded 1,288 such cases in 2025 and 1,836 in the first seven months of this year. The migrants typically enter Latvia illegally from Belarus and then try to reach Western Europe through Lithuania and Poland, most often Germany.