🇱🇻🇧🇾 MAJOR: Latvia suspects Belarusian border officials are involved in an organised scheme forcing migrants to sabotage infrastructure inside NATO territory.
A new LTV investigation reveals:
• 60+ cases of damaged border infrastructure in 2026, up from 23 in 2025.
• Migrants unable to pay smugglers are allegedly threatened with violence or torture unless they sabotage Latvian infrastructure.
• Targets include surveillance cameras and electrical distribution cabinets.
• Migrants reportedly enter Latvia carrying tools, including metal saws, damage specific infrastructure and return to Belarus.
• Smuggling routes reportedly cost around $5,000 per person, often paid in cryptocurrency.
Latvia's Prosecutor General's Office opened a criminal investigation in July and says there are reasonable grounds to suspect Belarusian border officials are involved.
Investigators are cooperating with Europol.
The allegations of Belarusian state involvement remain under investigation.