Poland detains suspected Estonian human trafficker for three months
Poland's Interior Ministry has confirmed the three-month detention of an Estonian citizen arrested a month ago at the Lithuania–Poland border on charges of organizing illegal border crossings.
An Estonian citizen allegedly transporting migrants who entered the EU illegally via Belarus was detained on the Poland–Lithuania border on July 7 by Polish border guards.
"An Estonian citizen who was transporting four Afghan illegal migrants has been charged with organizing illegal border crossings and the court has placed him in custody for three months," a spokesperson for Poland's Ministry of Internal Affairs told Postimees on Wednesday, the The Baltic Sentinel reports.
As for the Afghan nationals, after procedural steps were completed, they were handed over to the Lithuanian side under the readmission agreement, according to the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs.
However, the ministry could not specify the current status of the Estonian citizen — whether he has a lawyer and where he is being held. The Polish Prosecutor's Office has promised to answer these questions.
Under Poland's Penal Code, organizing an illegal border crossing is punishable by a fine or imprisonment from six months to eight years.
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Editor: Marcus Turovski
Source: The Baltic Sentinel
