Lithuanian border guards, helped by Europol, detain 2 suspected migrant smugglers

VILNIUS – Lithuanian border guards, in cooperation with Europol, on Wednesday detained two people suspected of organizing illegal migration, the State Border Guard Service (SBGS) said on Thursday.

The officials conducted surprise searches of the homes of the suspects, a 42-year-old Belarusian national and a 21-year-old Ghanaian national, and found evidence relevant to the investigation, it said in a press release.  

The Europol-coordinated Joint Action Day also took place in Germany, Poland, Latvia and Estonia on Wednesday.  

"This is the second active phase of its kind this year, when, according to a pre-agreed plan, the participating countries put into action the criminal intelligence gathered," the SBGS said. 

Two more people suspected of organizing illegal migration, a 25-year-old Iraqi and a 48-year-old Lithuanian, were detained by Lithuanian border guards before the start of the Joint Action Day, it said.

Last weekend, a resident of Vilnius was also caught smuggling four Iraqis. 

This year, the SBGS has opened 62 pre-trial investigations into trafficking in human beings and brought formal suspicions against 224 people, according to the press release.