Thousands of migrants are being smuggled through secret tunnels from Belarus into Lithuania, with fears they could be heading towards the UK, it has been claimed. A Great Escape-style underground passage dug by 'human mole' smugglers has reportedly been discovered beneath the European Union's border.
Eighteen migrants were recently captured on video by The Sun crawling through the 50ft-long tunnel, before clambering from an exit hole and dashing into thick forest. The secret passageway was reportedly discovered in remote forest near Kabeliai in southern Lithuania amid fears this and other tunnels are being used by migrants trying to reach the UK and large parts of Western Europe.
Tunnel discoveries on the rise
In 2026, Lithuania has found 12 secret tunnels, while border guards in nearby Latvia have discovered two more. The tunnels are destroyed by the Baltic countries as soon as they are uncovered.
Lithuania’s Interior Minister Martynas Katelynas said: "The threat of irregular migration is growing. Tunnels dug under the state border are becoming an unlawful alternative for entering Lithuania illegally."
Recently, border officers found two tunnels - one as long as 130ft - which smugglers had seemingly burrowed under a border fence, according to The Sun. In August, 28 migrants were detained by Latvian border guards after the group had crawled through an underground passage from Belarus.
Latvia and Lithuania respond
This year alone, nearly 12,000 migrants have already seen their attempts to cross the Baltic nation's border fence scuppered. Latvian officials seem in little doubt Belarus - a staunch ally of Vladimir Putin - is playing a large role in the influx of migrants.
Captain Vladimirs Sersts from Latvia’s State Border Guard said: "When you see a group of migrants freely walking along the fence on the Belarusian side, this is your answer. This is a restricted area."
Latvia and Lithuania have become close allies of Ukraine in the four-and-a-half years since the invasion into the eastern country by Putin's forces.
Hybrid attack concerns
Margarita Seselgyte, Director of the Institute of International Relations and Political Science at Vilnius University, believes the tunnels are "a hybrid attack to cause anxiety in our society". She added: "The main goal is probably to weaken support for Ukraine and disrupt European unity."
Since the infamous border crisis in 2021, Lithuania has managed to stop more than 26,000 migrants from entering the country from Belarus. In 2026 alone, almost 1,700 migrants have been prevented from crossing. Yet, this reportedly doesn't seem to be deterring the tunnellers.
In July, it was revealed work by smugglers on an unfinished 36ft-long underground shaft were compromised by a Lithuanian border patrol.
Alp Mehmet, Chairman of Migration Watch UK, told me: "It’s not unusual for some EU countries to do migrant push backs. I find it very difficult to understand why France in particular doesn’t take illegal migrants back from Britain. It beggars belief that Britain is paying the French through the nose to stop migrants for nothing in return."
Earlier this week, two men have died attempting a small boat crossing of the English Channel, with the French authorities urging migrants not to risk the journey. They said the men, one thought to be in his 30s and the other in his 40s, died after leaving the coast at Berck on Sunday night. Three other people among the 90 on board the vessel also needed treatment after prolonged contact with fuel in the boat, the local maritime prefecture said.
According to a translation of the prefecture’s statement, a separate incident last Sunday morning saw a boat containing around 80 migrants run aground at Camiers. Most of the migrants waded back to the beach but 11 people were rescued suffering from hypothermia.
The Maritime Prefecture of the English Channel and the North Sea warned that the "flimsy inflatable boats used for such crossings are unsuitable and particularly vulnerable" to the conditions in the busy sea lanes between France and the UK.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham's official spokesman recently said: "Crossings are down significantly – 44% on last year – and this summer saw the lowest number of small boat arrivals in six years. We’ve removed more than 80,000 people with no right to be here since the election, an increase of 52%."
