The Finnish border guard service announced on February 2 that it had detained four foreign citizens who attempted to enter Russia through the closed border near the city of Imatra.
In a statement, the ministry said: “The patrol detained four foreigners on suspicion of committing a crime at the state border. It was previously established that these individuals were connected with the alleged crime.”
According to reports, the border guards received an alarm from a technical surveillance device at the eastern border checkpoint on January 30.
The nationalities of the detainees have not been disclosed. Authorities suspect the foreigners may be involved in human trafficking and pimping cases uncovered by Finnish police in Oulu on January 29.
Additionally, on January 16, the Finnish border guard service detained three German tourists who illegally crossed the border between Russia and Finland on snowshoes near the Pagliakke ski resort in Kuusamo. The tourists returned to Finland after entering Russian territory and admitted during interrogation that they had tried the border crossing out of curiosity.
