A foreigner who fled from the police with illegal migrants has been sentenced, the Šiauliai District Court reported.
Read more President: we must strive for an agreement on the new EU budget by the end of this year
A twenty-year-old Moldovan with a Romanian passport was detained by police officers in the territory of the Republic of Lithuania on May 28 this year around noon in the Pakruojis district near the village of Akmenėliai.
The young man sought to work in Lithuania
I. P. illegally transported 13 foreigners in a rented VW Multivan, although the vehicle is designed to carry up to 8 people. As it turned out, most were men up to 26 years old, without any identity documents and without a residence in Lithuania, who fit inside the vehicle’s cabin, while several were cramped in the trunk compartment. Some introduced themselves to the officers as citizens of Eritrea, others from the Republic of Sudan and the Comoros Union.
The case was examined in a shortened evidence review procedure. The accused said that he initially left Moldova for Germany to work for a friend. Later he came to Lithuania with the aim of working.
According to him, about 5 days before the incident, an unknown person calling himself DYNO contacted him via the WhatsApp app, communicating in Russian. DYNO offered to earn money in Lithuania by transporting people. I. P. and a friend stayed in a hotel in Vilnius. Since I. P. did not have a driver’s license, at DYNO’s request, he sent all his personal data, Romanian passport, and his photo to make a driver’s license.
The VW Multivan was rented to the Moldovan by a friend who had a driver’s license. Shortly after, I. P. received instructions from DYNO with specific coordinates to go to the Republic of Latvia.
According to the accused, he drove alone, strictly following the coordinates given by the stranger; the road was bad, surrounded by forest. Finally, he reached a forest from which all 13 unknown men appeared; without delay, they climbed into the van. Seeing them, I. P. realized they were illegal migrants, called DYNO, and said he would not transport these people.
But the stranger threatened him that in that case, he would call the police and say that I. P. was transporting illegal migrants and would end up in prison. I. P. had to comply and continue the journey towards Lithuania.
Read more Erica Jennings about the coming autumn, the secrets of femininity, and life lessons
A promised substantial reward
By the way, at that time I. P. agreed with the stranger on the payment, which was promised to be between 4000 and 5000 euros. As instructed, I. P. filmed the illegal migrants during the trip and sent data to DYNO every 30–50 kilometers.
According to the accused, he never received coordinates from the stranger about the exact place where the illegal migrants were to be taken.
The Moldovan’s journey on Lithuanian roads did not last long; while driving, he noticed that a police car seemed to be following his van and immediately informed DYNO. The stranger told the Moldovan to drive somewhere secluded, leave the car, and run away. I. P. did so because he was afraid of the police and DYNO. However, the man did not run far; after rolling down a cliff, he ended up in a stream, and upon climbing out, he saw police officers almost nearby.
Both during the pre-trial investigation and in court, the young man admitted his guilt and regretted getting involved in such a story. The accused admitted that he then understood he was transporting illegal migrants in a way that endangered their lives.
Confiscation of VW worth 22,000 euros
When sentencing I. P., the court took into account the mitigating circumstance that he confessed and sincerely regretted, as well as the aggravating circumstance that the crime was committed by a group of accomplices, and also considered his personality, being young and without prior convictions. The court sentenced the accused to 1 year and 4 months of imprisonment and imposed a criminal penalty measure – confiscation of a sum of money equivalent to the value of the VW Multivan – 22,000 euros.
This verdict is not final and can be appealed to the Lithuanian Court of Appeal.
Read more Iranian President: US economic pressure will achieve nothing
