Men from Syria found a “smuggler” who organized their transportation to the Finnish border via Telegram messenger. Their journey – they said – began in St. Petersburg, from where taxi drivers from Tajikistan took them to the border in two cars. The “service” costs PLN 6,000. EUR. – they admitted in a conversation with Yle journalists.
Then – as they said – they had to “deal with themselves”. They did not know that the Finnish border crossings were closed and that it took about 8 hours to reach the other side in heavy snow, they said.
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They were arrested in South Karelia by a border guard patrol on Wednesday. The services received information about people moving into the border area from the local community. The migrants knocked on the windows of the houses, alarming the residents.
One of the asylum seekers – underlines the Finnish broadcaster – had previously been in Belarus, from where he intended to reach Poland and then the EU, but his plan failed.
The Finns have closed the border with Russia
The Finnish government decided on Thursday that the border with Russia along the entire 1,300 km long stretch will be closed for the next month, i.e. until February 11 (the previous decision expired on Sunday, January 14).
— The hybrid threat from Russia still exists, Interior Minister Mari Rantanen justified the decision.
After the government extended border restrictions, guards in the Lappeenranta area, near the closed Nuijamaa crossing, arrested 11 more Iranians. According to the findings of the border guards, a group of men received support from the Russian side to illegally enter Finland.
Under normal conditions, an average of several dozen people cross the eastern border illegally every year. In the current situation, more such cases may occur, especially with the arrival of spring and improving weather conditions, said Vice Admiral Matti Sarasmaa of the Guard Unit Command South-Eastern Finland.
Last autumn, when the border with Russia opened, more than 1,300 asylum seekers arrived in Finland, mainly from countries in the Middle East and North Africa.
2024-01-15 04:20:11
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