Overview
- The tunnel was discovered on Tuesday during a reconstruction of a migrant group’s entry route and lay roughly ten metres from the border fence close to the closed Silene crossing.
- Fifteen people were detained in the operation tied to the discovery, according to the Latvian State Border Guard.
- Interior Minister Jānis Dombrava ordered electronic searches for more underground passages and described this as the first tunnel of its kind found in Latvia.
- The government launched 'Operation Werwolf' to target transport and logistics networks used by smugglers and said it will expand drone patrols, increase border guards and strengthen the fence.
- Latvia framed the find as part of a wider pattern of organised moves from Belarus seen by its neighbours, and officials said they will coordinate with Lithuania, Poland and Estonia while investigations continue.