As 41 people who had entered Estonia illegally across the Latvian border were apprehended over the past week, authorities are increasingly checking people and vehicles arriving from Latvia at the border.

The checks were boosted more than usual in Valga on Monday when "Aktuaalne kaamera visited".

"This is migration pressure that may have been initiated by the Belarusian state, but if we are talking about the countries of origin of these migrants, we have apprehended Somali citizens as the largest number, followed by people from other East African countries, including Ethiopia, as well as more distant countries such as India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. There are actually many countries of origin," said Igor Bogdanov, head of the patrol service at the PPA's southeastern police station.

Valga, twinned with Valka on the Latvian side of the border, also has a rail station and PPA personnel have been checking trains arriving from Latvia, which has included walking through the carriages and checking passengers' documents where necessary.

"We are checking transport hubs — railways — and on the roads we are trying to check people and vehicles. We have also informed accommodation providers and others, such as bus companies, that if anything raises questions or suspicions, they should let us know as well," Bogdanov said.

Estonia has detained close to 200 foreign nationals who entered illegally since July, most via Belarus and Latvia, with 72 handed back to Latvia. Interior Minister Igor Taro (Eesti 200) has described the entries as organized waves orchestrated by another state. The strain has fallen hardest on the court system, particularly the Tallinn Administrative Court, which has to green-light PPA detention requests. Just outside Tallinn, Rae municipality's child protection services, has struggled with a surge of migrants claiming to be minors. Estonia has extended its border-guard rotation on Latvia's border with Belarus, whose regime is aligned with the Kremlin. Estonia has also asked Finland for assistance with patrols and returns.

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