Police chief warns migration pressure could rise in coming weeks

Migration pressure could rise significantly in the coming weeks as people still in Belarus try to leave before freezing temperatures arrive, Estonian Police and Border Guard Board Director General Egert Belitšev told the programme First Studio, ERR reported.

Belitšev said Ethiopia has a population of 130 million, compared with Estonia’s 1.3 million, and more than one million refugees from neighbouring countries live there. Flights from Ethiopia to Moscow operate six times a week, and Ethiopian citizens can travel to Russia without a visa. Many of those making the journey hope to reach Europe, he said.

Russia has deliberately eased entry requirements for people from these countries and increased flight frequencies, Belitšev said. From Russia, people travel by bus to Belarus, where authorities do not try to stop them and instead help them, he said. Belitšev said Russia uses Belarus to put pressure on Europe.

Organised criminal groups arrange the journey, which costs each person an average of 5,000 to 10,000 euros, according to Belitšev. He said the criminal activity generates substantial income in both Belarus and Russia, and that signs indicate local authorities also profit from it.

Police announced on Tuesday that they had caught smugglers in Estonia in the act. Belitšev said stopping the networks requires targeting their leaders. Police aim to detain suspects, hold them in custody and bring their cases to court as quickly as possible. Authorities also seize criminal proceeds where possible.

In a case decided in mid-September, a captured smuggler was sentenced to seven months in prison and barred from entering the Schengen area for six years.

Belitšev said police were under heavy pressure but had not yet had to leave work undone. Other public bodies are also affected. Some arrivals claim to be minors, which Belitšev said can amount to misuse of the European Union’s child-protection system. Local governments must arrange guardianship, while administrative courts are not accustomed to handling this level of demand.

Migration pressure has previously fallen during winter, when fewer people are willing to shelter in the Belarusian forest in temperatures of minus 10 degrees Celsius. But Belitšev warned that pressure could rise before the cold sets in, as people still in Belarus try to leave. “Our advantage is four seasons,” he said.