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Sorry Latvians, but Kãrums is ours now. Let's all pray to god we don't mess up the recipe

"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."

Just got back from 2 weeks in the Baltics. Absolutely loved almost everything about my experience, but the utter barrage of generative ai imaging was distracting and overwhelming. I wish I'd have had an opportunity to visit before the AI boom. I would have liked to seen what locals were producing from their own brains.

Menus, posters, logos, pictures of food, souvenirs- all generative AI. I wanted to get some souvenirs like handcrafts or locally designed shirts etc but everything was ai!

Edit: putting an edit here because i don't know why you guys are downvoting me for saying AI is not like this where i live. Yes, i am American. Yes, there is an American in the comments saying it's overwhelming in America too. That is simply not my experience, and their only example was a Mexican restaurant started using Ai imaging in the menu. What I'm describing goes FAR beyond this.

I haven't travelled Europe since 2023, which was before the big AI boom. Yes, i see the comments saying the ai is everywhere, not just the Baltics. I just didn't know because i haven't been in Europe since 2023.
Since 2023, i have travelled ALL over the US including Puerto Rico. I travel to LA a lot, and i live in a city similar to LA on the eastern side of the county. I go to work conferences in various cities as well as visit friends and as a tourist. I have NEVER seen AI use like i saw on this trip. My city is world-famous for being a hub for artists, musicians, and artisans. Yes, people are USING ai privately and at work, but it is not getting used in graphic design or photography. If someone DOES publish something using AI, they get fucking flamed and cancelled and immediately have to retract whatever it was. We have a large immigrant population in my city: even small immigrant run business like tiny shops or restaurants are not using Ai.
Both my traveling companion and i were totally shocked and overwhelmed by the barrage of Ai BECAUSE it's not like that where we live. This is the honest truth!!

Anyway, that all said. I absolutely loved my time in this region. The people were incredibly kind and hospitable. We made so many friends and just genuinely were charmed. It was such an honor to be able to spend so much time in beautiful unspoiled nature. We had a really nice time visiting. Thank you for being so kind and welcoming to weary travelers. Hope to return sometime

And plus how tiny will i look there as a 5 feet 8 guy .

It was a week-long vacation trip for me and my wife.

Before anything else I would like to thank community here who warned about need to fill a travel authorization form (even for transit!) for Latvia. it could be possible that without such hint I would not fill it at all and our vacation could become a sad thing instead. UPDATE: as we were traveling from outside Shengen, we had to fill that form, which is the Electronic Travel Declaration form described here: https://www.mfa.gov.lv/en/electronic-travel-declaration and filled here: http://eta.gov.lv/

One of strongest impressions was is the most developed public transit system we seen in Tallinn.

Trams are very good. We used them many times.

Lots of trees across country and in Tallinn too, with well developed public transit, it all gives some special positive feel to me.

Going beyond some "standard" travel landmarks was an improvisation and while we was not able to visit the place we wanted to see, we seen something else, and it was a good experience as whole.

One of the most cute things seen was the signpost at Kaperi bus stop with directions to various places, from hairdresser to kindergarten. It gives some cute atmosphere that I can't describe well. most close metaphor coming to mind is it like walking into a quest game about a small medieval village.

The Elron trains are really good. I can say I dreamed to travel on an European train since last year, and during this travel that dream come true out of the blue, when we decided to travel to Tartu. Train interior design looks quite futuristic to my taste and I like it.

Intercity buses are quite good, better than I expected. We took a bus from Tartu to Kaperi and than later continued to Võru.

Just not all travels goals can be reached just by starting a "quest" as an impromptu without proper research and rely on internet search or Gemini output.

It may require not only better planning but some extra more "offline" research.

Also: it is not every hotel has own museum about soviet times and KGB. Hotel where we stayed has such museum. I now knew some new details about these harsh and difficult times.

I’m planning to build a small greenhouse at home in Lithuania (I am from Brazil) and want to go in with realistic expectations, especially for winter 🥶

For those of you growing in the Baltics or a similarly cold/short-season climate: what were the biggest challenges you ran into across the seasons, and winter in particular?

- Do you keep growing through winter at all, or does production basically stop?
- Heating, insulation, or lighting setups that were worth it vs. not worth the cost?
- Anything you wish someone had told you before you started?

Thanks in advance! 🙏🏽

Hi everyone,

A few months ago I asked here for advice about a road trip through the Baltic countries.

I am back now to thank everyone who gave me suggestions, and also to leave a small travel diary of our trip.

We are a couple in our forties, flying in and out of Riga, with 14 full days and a rental car. We didn't want to do only the usual Baltic capitals tour: we also wanted to see smaller towns, rural areas and do some outdoor activities (hiking, cycling, lakes, etc.) in the national parks.

Because of this, we first decided to leave Lithuania for another trip, and then more or less limited Latvia to the Vidzeme region, so that we could spend less time driving and visit places at a more relaxed pace. Lithuania is definitely still on our list for a future trip.

Here is a summary of our itinerary. Maybe it can be useful to someone, especially because it is a bit different from the more typical Baltic trips.

Day 1) Arrival → Riga

• Old Town, St. Peter's Church, Riga Central Market

Day 2) Riga

• Central district, Art Nouveau Museum, Latvian National Museum of Art, Orthodox Cathedral

Day 3) Pick up rental car → Sigulda

• Latvian Ethnographic Open-Air Museum, Gutman's Cave

Day 4) Sigulda → Gauja National Park → Sigulda

• Turaida Castle, Sigulda New Castle and Old Castle ruins, walk along the river

Day 5) Sigulda → Tartu

• Cēsis, stop in Valga/Valka, Tartu

Day 6) Tartu → Tallinn

• Stop at Mustvee on Lake Peipus, Rakvere and its castle, then Tallinn: Lower Old Town (Vanalinn)

Day 7) Tallinn

• Kumu Art Museum and Kadriorg Park, Tallinn City Wall, Toompea Hill, evening in the Rotermann Quarter

Day 8) Tallinn → Lahemaa National Park → Tallinn

• Viru Bog trail, coastal viewpoints around Kasispea and Pärispea, Käsmu towards Kuradisaar, Vergi and the lighthouse, Altja village

Day 9) Tallinn → Haapsalu

• Paldiski and Pakri Lighthouse, Rummu Quarry and museum, Haapsalu

Day 10) Haapsalu → ferry → Saaremaa

• Kuressaare and the Bishop's Castle, Kaugatoma beach

Day 11) Saaremaa

• Salme, Sõrve Lighthouse and museum, Leedri village, Panga Cliff

Day 12) Saaremaa → Pärnu

• Angla Windmill Park, Koogova village, cycling around Pärnu

Day 13) Pärnu → Jūrmala

• Vidzeme coast, Saulkrasti and the White Dune, Jūrmala

Day 14) Jūrmala → Ķemeri National Park → Jūrmala

• Outdoor activities around Lake Babīte, Ķemeri, Ķemeri Bog trail at sunset

Day 15) Departure

One more personal note.

After several trips in Northern Europe, often focused quite a lot on landscapes, I was initially a little unsure about what to expect from the Baltic countries. I was used to places like Norway, where spectacular landscapes are often quite easy to come across even without much planning.

The Baltics are different. The landscape is generally less dramatic, but I found that if you take the time to research the area and look for the right places, there is a lot of beauty and, above all, a lot of character and variety.

The wetlands and bogs are something quite unique, but I was also surprised by some of the coastal landscapes. And I particularly liked the rural areas: villages and still-active farms, with buildings, roads and small stone walls that sometimes seem almost unchanged since the late 19th century.

So, at least for me, the main discovery was that the Baltics are not necessarily a place where you just drive around and expect spectacular scenery everywhere. They reward a bit of preparation and curiosity, and the landscapes you find are often interesting precisely because they are different from the more dramatic Northern European scenery.

There is really a lot to see, and also a lot to do, outside the famous capitals.

If anyone wants more details or has any questions about the itinerary, feel free to ask!

EDIT.
Some pictures added.

Tallinn City Wall in Toompea

Riga old town

Kasispea coast

Ethnological Museum Riga

Turaida, near the castle

Cesis castle

back of Tartu town hall

Rummu quarry

From the top of Sorve lighthouse

Koguva

Kemeri Bog

Lake Babīte

I plan on coming to visit Lithuania for two weeks anytime in Autumn, and mostly I want to visit concerts. I know it has a strong underground scene, I saw the band called Luctus in 2025 in Zwickau I think and would love to see more bands live like that, preferably if they play together in some event. Anything as hard will do, but all types of underground recommendations are OK!