On Monday afternoon, Latvian officials recorded an illegal crossing of the state border. The canine handler of the G. Žagunys border guard post of the VSAT Varėna border unit, together with the assigned service dog, Belgian Shepherd Chico, soon found tracks at the scene and led the officers further into Latvian territory. The search took place under very difficult conditions – moving through swamps and dense forests.
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After about 2 kilometers from the border, four persons who had illegally crossed the state border were detained. During the operation, another person took advantage of the circumstances and fled. It is suspected that he could have been the “guide” of the detained persons. The Lithuanian canine handler, after handing over the four detainees to Latvian colleagues, immediately began pursuing the fugitive with the dog.
The tracks of the fleeing person were followed for about 1.5 kilometers. The pursuit ended upon reaching the shore of a swampy lake – it was determined that the fugitive waded into the water in an attempt to hide. After losing the tracks and considering the difficult natural conditions, the further search for this person near the water body was stopped, with the search forces being informed about this.
Early Tuesday morning, at another incident site, ladders leaned against the border were noticed, items scattered on the Latvian side, and a footprint was found. Assistance in the search was requested from Lithuanian border guards patrolling together.
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The canine handler of the Šiauliai border guard post of the VSAT Pagėgiai border unit, together with the service dog German Shepherd Aja, arrived at the specified location and began a search in the forested and swampy area together with Latvian officials.
The results did not take long – after half an hour, the service dog detected 7 illegal migrants about 1.5 km from the state border. The detained persons did not resist.
In total, during the two operations, Lithuanian and Latvian officials detained 11 persons who violated the state border. Further procedural actions with the detainees are carried out by representatives of the Latvian State Border Guard Service.
