"Once you drive into Estonia, there are no problems at all."

Ekspress infiltrated a human smuggling recruitment network (113)

Marta Vunš | Artur Izumrudov Edited by: Urmas Jaagant | 12 min read

The human smuggling business is gaining momentum in the Baltics. It is not difficult to make contact with recruiters who are looking for drivers from Estonia to transport migrants. An experiment by Ekspress shows how risky and illegal work is framed as lucrative and safe.

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Ekspress: "What does it mean that we hide them?" Recruiter: "You need to cover them with something so they can't be seen. If your car is like an aquarium, then get some curtains for it. If it's tinted, then excellent. And basically, that's it—cover the people with a blanket. You have to make sure they crouch down. You can put someone in the trunk if you're worried they'll be seen. Nobody checks anything there."

Ekspress: "But how do people endure such a ride?" Recruiter: "They just have to endure it in the car. It might be hot, you can roll the windows down a bit. It can be very hot. You can also judge according to the situation. I doubt children are sent on such a trip. You understand yourself, they might make noise there."

This is how the conversation in Russian develops between the job provider and the job seeker.

A man hiding his identity on the communication app Telegram publicly posted a laconic message in a job offers group last week: "Urgently need a driver! Looking for drivers who have their own car, as well as those who don't. High pay for the ride."

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Over the past month, dozens of messages for drivers have appeared among the usual job postings meant for builders and customer service representatives.

To find out more, we went undercover as a 28-year-old job seeker named "Sergei" and started replying to such ads. There is no need to guess twice—this is how they look for drivers to transport people who have entered Estonia illegally onwards to Finland. Or, for even bigger money, to transport people who have reached Latvia from Belarus into Estonia.

A Lot of Work

"25 people will be ready in 3–4 hours in the Latvian forest."

Sergei received this message from a job provider at 10 PM on August 10th, after having listened to his offer that same afternoon: a driver is needed to transport people from a Latvian forest near the Belarusian border to Tallinn.

The next day, the same recruiter announces: "I need a photo of the car without license plates. And your geolocation. And how long will it take you to drive to Daugavpils?"

In total, Sergei received offers for the Latvia-Estonia route from three different recruiters. Naturally, none of them used their real name or photo on social media.

According to the recruiters, these are not isolated, random trips:

• Daily Operations: One notes there is work every day on the Latvia-Tallinn route. "Three cars went today," he announces.
• Volume: Some drivers take four people, some eight. "There are guys who want a minimum of 25." In that case, a bus or van is rented.
• Coordination: The recruiter acts based on a "supplier's" order (allegedly located in Turkey). The supplier alerts the recruiter when a group leaves a camp, and the recruiter sends the location and approximate time to the driver.

Strict Protocols and Payouts The driver cannot choose the routes to Estonia themselves. The recruiter sends a route in advance that must be strictly followed.

1. Verification 1: About 50 kilometers after picking up the migrants, the driver must send a video showing the passengers in the car.
2. Verification 2: Another video must be made in Tallinn when the people exit the vehicle.
3. Payment: The recruiter promises that the money will reach the driver 15–20 minutes later via card or crypto wallet.

"I won't sleep, I'll be with you for 24 hours, guiding you until you arrive," promises one recruiter, noting that €200 is advanced for fuel, which is not deducted from the final payout.

A New Direction: Estonia

Several recruiters who spoke to us describe the Estonian route as relatively new, having started about two months ago. Previously, trips were mostly ordered to Lithuania, Poland, and Germany.

When Sergei mentioned that he lives in Estonia, one recruiter initially said they don't do trips there, before quickly correcting himself: the new direction is Latvia-Tallinn!

"The most dangerous mileage is 15–20 kilometers from the pick-up point. Once you have already covered this distance, that's it. Once you drive into Estonia, there are no problems at all," promises one of the recruiters. "There have never been any problems at the border either. We have already made more than ten trips there, never once checked at the border."

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To mitigate risks, recruiters also offer an "escort" for Latvia-Estonia trips. A lead car checks that the pick-up area is clear, and another car scouts the Latvian-Estonian border. According to the recruiters, drivers have only been caught when they thought "they were smarter" and deviated from the assigned route.

"Cops are not a problem"

One recruiter told Sergei that the police are not a problem because "we make deals with them."

When pressed, the recruiter claimed: "Well, that they mainly give us the routes where it's safe to drive, and we won't be touched because we pay a certain portion of our earnings to them... I'll tell you honestly, if this work were legal, it wouldn't pay this kind of money."

We spoke to a recruiter for Tallinn-Finland drivers on Tuesday, August 11th. He was in a hurry, needing to secretly transport ten people to Helsinki over the next two days. "They go like hotcakes – fast. Once we take it on, we have to drive." The recruiter claimed the trips across the sea are made via Viking Line—a claim the ferry operator's press spokesperson denied having any knowledge of.

We couldn't find out more about Sergei's locations and the people being transported, because the next step would have been accepting the job offer, which risks criminal proceedings.

(Note: Illegally transporting a foreigner across the Estonian border is punishable by a fine or up to 3 years in prison. If lives are endangered, it increases to 7 years. Organized network involvement carries even harsher penalties.)

Official Response: Police and Border Guard Board (PPA)

Emeri Põld, Head of the Intelligence Group, Northern Prefecture Border Guard Bureau:

• On the Estonian Route: The Estonian direction has historically not been very active. However, since Lithuania and Poland have significantly strengthened their borders, transit through Estonia has increased, especially since mid-summer.
• On Police Complicity: The police do not share information with smugglers or cooperate with them. Alleged connections with the police are a sales pitch aimed at increasing driver trust and minimizing perceived risks.
• Recent Arrests: On August 14th, a 24-year-old driver (Egyptian citizen) was remanded in custody for two months after transporting five youths (Bangladeshi and Algerian citizens) into Estonia from Latvia. Smugglers have also been detained on the Estonia-Finland route.
• Countermeasures: The PPA checks departing vehicles at the port using additional resources. While no hidden migrants have been found inside vehicles at the port yet, illegal immigrants have been caught near the port and while boarding ships during profile-based checks.

"These are not isolated incidents, but international organized crime... fought against in close international cooperation. Thus, there is some truth to what the recruiters say: such activity requires a functioning network that includes recruiters, drivers, and coordinators."