Human smugglers to face prosecution

  • 2009-02-12
  • TBT Staff in cooperation with BNS
RIGA - The Latvian State Border Guard has asked lawenforcement authorities to prosecute a gang of 13 people for allegedly smuggling nearly 30 people into the country.

The smuggling gang is accused of bringing 27Syrian and three Chinese nationals across the border from July to September last year.

Kristine Petersone, a spokeswoman for the State Border Guard, told BNSthat the suspected human traffickers included 12 citizens of Latvia andone Lebanese national.

In late August 2008, criminal investigators from the Latvian State BorderGuard carried out an operation in which the first members of the gang ofhuman traffickers were arrested for smuggling three Chinese citizens overthe Latvian-Russian border.