ST. PETERSBURG. May 21 (Interfax) - The Federal Security Service's (FSB) border branch for St. Petersburg and Leningradskaya region has noted a sharp rise in attempts at illegal crossing of the country's border with the European Union with the start of the warm season.
Since April 1, when the last snow melted, attempts to organize routes for illegal migrants on the land border have increased fivefold and in some places, sevenfold, compared with the previous three months, the branch said.
"Over the period, across the entire section of the border area, there were repeated sightings of citizens from Iran, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Sudan, Cameroon, Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria, whose actions appeared to contain signs of preparation to violate the national border of the Russian Federation," the statement said.
On the border with Finland, there was a significant rise in such attempts precisely by Iranians: they study the border security system very thoroughly using feature films and documentaries and acquire the necessary toolkit (pliers, nail extractors), warm clothing and paper maps in advance.
"During arrests, border guards repeatedly found them in possession of said items as well as foodstuffs, compasses and topographic map images in their smartphones, which strongly indicates the criminal design," the FSB border branch said.