Poland discovers fourth tunnel under the border with Belarus this year
Polish border guards have reported the new discovery of an underground tunnel used by groups of illegal migrants to enter the country from Belarus. This is the fourth such route in a year, which indicates the systematic nature of organised channels of illegal migration on the Polish-Belarusian border.
According to The Public, according to the Polish Border Guard Service, the tunnel was found near the village of Narewka in Podlaskie Voivodeship. It was about a metre and a half high and stretched for several metres under a fence and a service road. The entrance was camouflaged in the forest 50 metres from the Belarusian border, and the exit was only 10 metres from the Polish bar.
Electronic monitoring systems recorded that over 180 people used the tunnel in a short period of time. Border guards, police and the military promptly blocked the area and detained more than 130 migrants, while the search for the rest continues. Most of the detainees are Afghan and Pakistani nationals, as well as people from India, Nepal and Bangladesh.
Law enforcement officers also detained two drivers who were supposed to take the migrants to Western Europe. They are a 69-year-old resident of the Lesser Poland Voivodeship and a 49-year-old Lithuanian citizen.
Polish security forces have recorded a sharp increase in attempts to illegally cross the border in recent years, linking it to the activities of Belarusian special services that direct migrants to the EU borders. The new underground route has become one of the largest exposed channels of illegal migration this year.
