So far this year ten persons have tried to cross the border between Russia and Norway illegally. Last year there were only nine attempts through the whole year. Russian authorities believe that the increased illegal traffic can be due to organized crime.
The Norwegian Border Commisioner, Leif Arne Ljøkjell says to Norwegian NRK that he agrees with the Russian view. It seems like it is a lot of third country citizens who wish to enter the Schengen area who attempts to cross the border Russian-Norwegian border. As BarentsObserver has reported earlier this year, persons from China, Uzbekistan and Lebanon has been stopped by border guards.
In Ljøkjell’s opinion, the control at the border is good enough. It is very rare that people manage to cross the border illegally. The last time was in 2006. However, Ljøkell stresses that it is important to maintain the control at both sides of the border at the same level as ther is today.
