People coming to Poland from Lithuania to face border checks at 13 points

VILNIUS – As Poland steps up checks at its border with Lithuania from next week, people traveling to Poland will be checked at 13 points, the State Border Guard Service said on Friday.

Poland will introduce additional controls from 1 a.m. Lithuanian time on Monday, July 7, the service said.

The checks are planned to take place at 13 checkpoints: Ogrodniki (on the Lithuanian side - Janaslavas, Lazdijai, Lazdijai district), Budzisko (Salaperaugis, Kalvarija, Kalvarija Municipality), Trakiszki (railway, Mockava, Kalvarija Municipality), Grzybina (Varteliai, Vistytis, Vilkaviskis District), Sudawskie (Vygreliai, Vilkaviskis District), Krejwiany (Liubavas, Vilkaviskis District), Poszeszupie (Ziogaiciai, Reketija, Kalvarija Municipality), Trompole (Trumpiai, Kalvarija Municipality), Krejwiany (Senieji Alksnenai, Kalvarija Municipality), Burbiszki (Galiniai, Lazdijai District), Dusznica (Tarnauka, Lazdijai District), Podlaski (Kalediskiai, Lazdijai District), Berżniki (Kauknoris, Kapciamiestis, Lazdijai District).

Giedrius Misutis, spokesman for the SBGS, told BNS on Friday that the Polish said had not said what the scope of the inspection would be. "We have no information that 100 percent of vehicles will be checked," he said.

According to the SBGS, Polish border guards have also informed that the so-called green belt, where the border runs along fields, forests and water bodies, will also be protected.

As BNS reported earlier, Poland said it would temporarily carry out checks at its borders with Germany and Lithuania from July 7 to stop illegal immigration.

According to Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, the checks at the border with Lithuania are necessary to stop migrants crossing from Belarus.

According to the SBGS, 352 illegal migrants were detained in the first six months of this year after entering Latvia from Belarus and then attempting to reach Western Europe via Lithuania and Poland. Compared to the same period last year, the number jumped 2.5 times.

In the first six months of this year, 25 pre-trial investigations were opened by the SBGS into alleged smuggling of people across the state border, and 31 migrant smugglers were arrested. In the vast majority of these cases, the foreigners were smuggled from Latvia and in one case from Poland. 

According to the data available to the SBGS, 5,914 migrants have attempted to enter Latvia this year, and they were detained and returned to Belarus. This is almost seven times more than the number of attempts to enter Lithuania from Belarus.

14,975 migrants have already tried to enter Poland this year and have been turned back at the border.