23 December, Vitebsk /Diana Kurilo - BELTA/. Illegal migrants from India, Afghanistan and the organisers of their illegal border crossing have been detained in the Verkhnedvinsk district, Denis Glebko, head of the press service of the Polotsk Border Guard Detachment, informed a BELTA correspondent. As a result of a set of measures carried out in the Verkhnedvinsk district by servicemen of the Polotsk Border Guard Detachment in cooperation with officers of a special unit of the border service, the following individuals were detained while attempting to cross the State Border near the border line: 2 citizens of India, 2 citizens of Afghanistan, and a citizen of the Russian Federation accompanying them. Shortly afterwards, a Toyota passenger car with Russian registration plates was discovered two kilometres from the location where the offenders were detained. It was established that the illegal migrants had been transported to the state border by this vehicle. Simultaneously, in Verkhnedvinsk, the organiser of the illegal migration channel, a citizen of India, was detained. He attempted to involve border service officers in unlawful activities by offering them a bribe of $1,000. Regarding the citizens of India and Afghanistan detained while attempting to cross the border, the issue of bringing them to administrative responsibility under Article 23.29 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Republic of Belarus – "Illegal crossing of the State Border" – is being considered. The organisers of the illegal migration channel will face criminal liability; a criminal case has been initiated against them under Part 2 of Article 371 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus – organisation of illegal migration, which provides for a penalty of imprisonment for up to seven years. Furthermore, the second organiser, a citizen of India, faces liability for bribery. A criminal case has also been initiated in this regard under Part 1 of Article 431 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus, which carries a penalty of imprisonment for up to five years. Over 11 months, Polotsk border guards have detained 35 border violators. -0-

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