Border Guard operation in Kielce: detention in migrant smuggling case
Two Ukrainian citizens were detained in the city centre of Kielce. Officers were carrying out activities as part of proceedings concerning illegal transportation of people across the border with Belarus.
Border Guard operation in Kielce: detention in migrant smuggling case
Just before 1 p.m. on Sunday, 28 June, on a car park on Dąbrowska Street in Kielce, officers conducted an organised operation. The location was situated between buildings numbered 5 and 8.
Eyewitnesses reported that they heard sounds resembling gunshots during the operation. According to TVP Kielce, officers used acoustic grenades before entering a flat occupied by a wanted man. Officers subdued him and took him into detention.
The operation was carried out independently by the Podlasian Border Guard Division. A spokesman for the unit, senior officer Michał Bury, confirmed that the activities in Kielce were conducted on the orders of law enforcement authorities. Due to the interests of the ongoing investigation, he refused to provide further details.
During the intervention, the detained man's partner became unwell. An ambulance took her to a medical facility, where she was provided with necessary assistance. After leaving the medical facility, the woman was again taken into the custody of border guards.
According to unofficial findings, the entire operation was part of a longer-running investigation into human trafficking across the Polish-Belarusian green border. The detainees are Ukrainian citizens, who are suspected of involvement in this criminal enterprise.
The Criminal Code provides for sentences of up to eight years' imprisonment for people smuggling. The detainees will be transported to a Border Guard unit in Białowieża.
Source: Google News PL — Crime (pl)