Police uncovered a 40‑meter‑long tunnel at the Polish‑Belarusian border on Dec. 11, revealing a breach that allowed more than 180 migrants to enter Poland, 130 of whom have now been detained.
Tunnel at Polish‑Belarusian Border
The tunnel was discovered beneath a barrier and technical road on Dec. 11. It measured several dozen meters in length and about 1.5 meters in height. Its entrance lay roughly 50 meters inside Belarus, while the exit was about 10 meters from the Polish side of the dam.
Detection and Detention
Electronic systems enabled border guard officers to confirm that over 180 foreign nationals had crossed into Poland via the tunnel. More than 130 were subsequently detained, with authorities still searching for the remaining individuals. Besides border guards, soldiers, police officers, and service dogs were involved in the operation.
The detainees were mainly citizens of Afghanistan and Pakistan, along with nationals from India, Nepal and Bangladesh. This incident marks the fourth tunneling breach along the Belarusian border revealed by the Podlaskie Border Guard Division this year.
Additional Detentions at the Border
At the same time, border guard officers detained two drivers: a 69‑year‑old resident of the Małopolska province and a 49‑year‑old Lithuanian citizen who had come to pick up migrants. The men were allegedly planning to transport the migrants westward across Europe. Further actions against them are underway.
