Early Monday morning at Vilnius airport in the Schengen departure terminal, near the boarding gates, while boarding passengers flying to Paris, VSAT Vilnius border guard officers patrolling checked two foreigners who aroused their suspicion.
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The first introduced himself as a French citizen and presented a French identity card valid until March 2027 to the VSAT officers. The man also showed his boarding pass for the flight to the French capital saved on his smartphone.
The second passenger told the border guards that he was a Belgian citizen and showed an identity card valid until June 2029, as well as a boarding pass for the mentioned flight on his phone.
Suspecting that the documents presented did not belong to the travelers, VSAT officers took both men to the second control line for a more detailed inspection of their belongings and to verify the authenticity of the documents.
Then the foreigner admitted that he actually held Afghan citizenship and showed a certificate saved on his phone from the Reception and Integration Agency (PIIA) Vilnius reception center, subordinate to the Ministry of Social Security and Labour, issued to a 21-year-old Afghan citizen. He had left there without permission; the French document did not belong to him, and he had received it by mail for 2,000 euros. His goal was to get to France, where his friends live.
The second detainee, a 23-year-old Afghan also heading to Paris, who had also escaped from the PIIA Vilnius reception center, gave similar statements.
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Using the Interpol database, the border guards found that both documents presented to them were stolen: the French identity card has been sought since May 19 last year, and the Belgian one since July 6 this year.
Passengers flying on internal EU flights are usually not checked, but border guards carry out selective checks based on profiling according to risk factors.
The Afghan citizens did not fly to Paris – they were placed in custody.
Two pre-trial investigations have been launched at the VSAT Vilnius border guard regarding the theft or use of the documents, led by a prosecutor from the 1st division of the Vilnius District Prosecutor’s Office of the Vilnius Regional Prosecutor’s Office.
Such criminal activity is punishable by a fine, restriction of liberty, arrest, or imprisonment for up to four years under the law.
On Tuesday, the court imposed preventive measures on both Afghan citizens – detention for one month.
