Latvian border guards have detained a German national suspected of illegally transporting migrants following a vehicle check near the country's eastern border with Belarus.
The man was transporting six people who lacked valid travel documents, visas or residence permits, the Latvian border guard agency said in a press statement published on Thursday.
Authorities said the group had previously crossed the Belarus-Latvia border illegally.
The agency said criminal proceedings have been launched against the suspect on charges of illegally transporting people across the state border, an offence that carries a prison sentence. A spokeswoman declined to provide further details about his identity.
Latvia, which shares a 172-kilometre border with Belarus, has accused Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko of facilitating migrant flows to the EU's external border to put pressure on the bloc, an accusation Minsk denies.
According to Latvian authorities, more than 7,000 migrants have been prevented from crossing the border irregularly so far this year.
They have also opened 94 criminal investigations involving 80 people suspected of migrant smuggling or facilitating illegal residence.
