The Bieszczady Border Guard Unit (BiOSG) spokeswoman major Elżbieta Pikor stated that the incident occurred in Brzegi Górne in Southeast Poland during traffic control.
Border Guard officers attempted to stop a Toyota with Silesian (region in Poland) license plates. Instead of complying, the driver ignored the officers’ clear signals and sped up. The driver was stopped after a 10-kilometer-long pursuit.
In addition to the 25-year-old Polish driver, 10 Afghani men aged between 16 and 50 were also found within the vehicle.
According to their explanations, most of them first reached Moscow and later travelled to Ukraine. Under the cover of night, they illegally crossed the mountain section of the Polish-Ukrainian border and were picked up by the Polish driver.
Transfer of illegal migrants to Ukrainian border services (source: Bieszczady Border Guard Unit)
All of the illegal migrants wanted to reach Western European countries. Their whole journey took over 40 days. The migrants paid EUR 6 – 10 thousand per person to be smuggled to Europe.
Border Guard spokeswoman Elżbieta Pikor added that the foreigners admitted to illegally crossing the border and were sentenced to six months of prison in abeyance for two years. As part of the readmission agreement with Ukraine, the migrants were transferred to Ukrainian authorities.
The Polish driver has been detained for two months. He is faced with up to eight years of prison.
