Polish Border Guards Post in cooperation with the Police, detained a Ukrainian citizen who was transporting three foreigners

On February 25th, in Grajewo, police officers, after receiving information from the Border Guard post in Rutka-Tartak about a person transporting migrants, stopped a Skoda vehicle for a roadside check. The driver was a 35-year-old Ukrainian citizen. Three foreigners were traveling with him in the vehicle: citizens of Ethiopia, Somalia, and Mali.

Border Guard officers from Rutka-Tartak arrived at the roadside inspection site to conduct, among other things, a check on the legality of their stay. The foreigners did not possess documents authorizing them to cross the border or stay in Poland. Border Guard officers determined that the passengers had been taken to the Lithuanian-Polish border and then illegally entered Poland on foot. After crossing the border, a Ukrainian citizen illegally picked them up at an agreed-upon location and was supposed to transport them deep into Europe.

The court ordered the driver to be detained for three months. Organizing or aiding in the organization of an illegal border crossing carries a penalty of up to eight years in prison. The man was also ordered to return to his country of origin and banned from re-entering Poland and the Schengen area for seven years. The passengers were transferred to Lithuania under the readmission agreement.