An Estonian Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) team, known as Estpol-8, has been assisting Latvia with border surveillance.

In just over a week, they have stopped over 130 illegal migrants from entering Latvia from Belarus.

Estonia does not share a border with Belarus, but the memory of the migrant crisis in the region in summer 2021 is still fresh. The Interior Minister of Estonia, Lauri Läänemets, visited the Latvian-Belarusian border and praised the cooperation between the two countries.

Estpol-8 uses drones and tracking dogs to locate illegal entrants. They have been in the area for nearly six weeks, and their efforts have led to the interception of 138 illegal border crossers.

Latvian border guards have a 95% success rate in intercepting illegal immigrants. The Estpol-8 team is nearing the end of its deployment, but another Estonian team will replace them.

Latvian authorities are welcoming Estonian personnel for as long as they want to come. The interior ministers of many EU countries, including Ukraine, are meeting in Vilnius to discuss crisis response in the region.