Donatas D. Škarnulis is temporarily leading VSAT, as indicated on the official service website.
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D. Škarnulis was appointed deputy head of VSAT last January; before that, since 2018, he led the VSAT Criminal Investigations Department. On January 1, 2024, he was granted the rank of colonel in the internal service.
BNS reported that the Government dismissed VSAT head R. Liubajevas on Wednesday, who decided to resign amid a law enforcement investigation of an incident at the border.
Discussions about R. Liubajevas’s future arose after information appeared in the media about an incident at the Kapčiamiestis border post territory at the end of July.
It was reported that after a tunnel being dug under the state border was detected, four border guards set up an ambush.
The border guards detained several migrants and handcuffed them, but during the detention about 20 foreigners attacked the officers.
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They had to flee, while the illegal migrants, including those handcuffed, escaped to Belarus. VSAT reported the found tunnel and the escaped migrants but remained silent about the attack on the officers.
The incident was reported by the portal “Delfi” based on sources, and last week the portal “Lrytas” published that one officer was injured.
The resignation is positively evaluated by the officers’ trade unions, but they emphasize the need to fully investigate the mentioned situation.
Meanwhile, some opposition politicians criticized Minister M. Katelynas, claiming that under his pressure the VSAT head decided to resign.
R. Liubajevas led VSAT since December 2019. He was appointed for the first term then, and at the end of 2024 for the second. Before that, he served as chief advisor to the Public Security Policy Group of the Ministry of the Interior.
