The Polish Border Guard reported on 12 May that its north-eastern units intercepted 34 migrants attempting to enter Poland from Lithuania between 8 and 10 May. Nationalities included citizens of India, Bangladesh, Somalia and Afghanistan. Three alleged smugglers — two Turkmen nationals and one Lithuanian courier — were also detained and now face up to eight years in prison under Polish law. All apprehended migrants were handed back to Lithuanian authorities under fast-track readmission procedures, illustrating the close operational cooperation between Warsaw and Vilnius since irregular flows through the so-called Baltic route picked up last year. Each migrant additionally received a 5- to 10-year Schengen entry ban. The incident highlights the human-smuggling networks that have shifted eastwards as tighter controls along the Polish-Belarusian border make that crossing more hazardous. Employers using posted workers from third countries should check their recruitment chains to ensure no links with facilitators now pivoting to the Baltic corridor. For relocation managers the message is to verify that staff from South Asia and Africa possess valid EU visas before transiting the region. Carriers operating shuttle buses between Kaunas and Suwałki were advised to schedule extra time for spot checks and to brief drivers on procedures if passengers are removed.
Source: Komenda Główna Straży Granicznej
