Lithuanian border guards have discovered two unfinished tunnels dug from Belarus beneath the frontier, in what the head of the State Border Guard Service, Rustamas Liubajevas, said may involve Belarusian authorities in a scheme to smuggle migrants into the European Union.
The first tunnel, found on 22 July near the village of Piesčiai in the Varėna district, ran roughly 5 metres at a depth of 1.5 metres. A second, 11-metre passage was uncovered on Sunday evening near Pertakas in the Lazdijai district, running beneath a Lithuanian patrol road. Neither tunnel had an exit on Lithuanian soil; authorities have filled both in.
An investigation into illegally crossing the state border has been opened, carrying penalties of up to two years in prison. Liubajevas said the border service has identified dozens of locations where similar underground passages may exist.