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Polish Border Guard officers have revealed the illegal crossing of the Polish-Belarusian border by more than 180 foreigners.
The migrants had entered Polish territory through a tunnel dug under a dam near Narewka in the Podlasie region.
Thanks to integrated electronic systems, border guards were able to quickly locate them after they emerged and more than 130 migrants have been apprehended while the search for others is still ongoing.
The tunnel is almost a hundred metres long and about 1.5 metres high.
The entrance, hidden in the forest on the Belarusian side, was about 50 metres from the border, while the exit was located just 10 metres from the Polish one.
Border officials said that soldiers, police officers and tracking dogs also took part in the search operation, which allowed for the immediate apprehension of most of the migrants.
Afghan and Pakistani nationals predominated among those apprehended, but the group also included residents of India, Nepal and Bangladesh.
Two drivers were detained at the same time. They are a 69-year-old Pole and a 49-year-old Lithuanian. The men are suspected of smuggling the migrants to western Europe.
Further investigations are being carried out.
This is the fourth such tunnel discovered this year by officers of the Podlaskie Branch of the Border Guard.
The Border Guard emphasised that thanks to a combination of electronic and physical safeguards, it was possible to respond quickly to such attempts to breach the state border.
