In Vitebsk, new details have emerged about the members of a criminal group involved in the transit of illegal migrants
New details have emerged in Vitebsk regarding the participants of an international criminal group involved in the transit of illegal migrants, BELTA reports, citing the official website of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee.
In November 2012, the Vitebsk regional department of the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus received operational information concerning participants of an international criminal group involved in organizing a channel for the illegal transportation of citizens of Afghanistan, Iraq, and other countries with heightened terrorist activity, as well as Vietnam, to European Union countries, particularly the Republic of Lithuania, from the Russian Federation through the territory of the Republic of Belarus. It was established that the criminal group includes citizens of Russia, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, and Iraq.
On January 8, 2013, at approximately 18:00 in the Polotsk district, near a cafe located on the Vitebsk - Polotsk - Lithuanian Republic border highway, officers of the Vitebsk regional department for combating organized crime and corruption, in conjunction with officers of the operational activities service of the Polotsk border detachment, and with the support of OMON (Special Purpose Police Unit) fighters of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, detained two citizens of the Russian Federation, born in 1982 and 1976, residents of Moscow and the Moscow region, one of whom was a native of Iraq, as well as their accomplice – a citizen of Belarus born in 1981. They had organized the entry into the territory of Belarus without entry visas of the Republic of Belarus and identity documents for six citizens of Vietnam, one citizen of Iraq, and one from Afghanistan. The participants of the criminal group intended to transport the illegal migrants to Lithuania on the same day through a section of the Belarusian-Lithuanian border in the Braslav district of the Vitebsk region. The accomplice, a citizen of Belarus, received $1.6 thousand from his Russian accomplices out of the $8 thousand promised after the illegal migrants crossed the state border, for ensuring their further transportation to Lithuania.
On January 9, the Investigative Committee Department for the Vitebsk Region initiated a criminal case against detained citizens of Russia and Belarus under Part 2 of Article 371-1 of the Criminal Code of Belarus, the sanctions of which provide for imprisonment for a term of 3 to 7 years with confiscation of property. Two cars used to transport the illegal migrants have been seized.
Currently, the involvement of the detainees in other cases of smuggling illegal migrants into the European Union countries is being established. In 2011-2012, the detained Russian citizens had already brought groups of illegal migrants into Belarus, two of which were detained by the Department for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption for the Vitebsk Region in 2011 while attempting to illegally enter Lithuania. If this information is confirmed, new criminal cases will be initiated against the detainees.