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The Panevėžys Regional Court has announced its verdict in a criminal case where two young female citizens of the Republic of Estonia were found guilty of the illegal transportation of eleven migrants through Lithuanian territory. The court imposed actual prison sentences on both defendants and confiscated the tools used in the crime as well as the illegally obtained income.

The court established that the convicts acted as executors in an organized chain led by an individual using the pseudonym "Slava." Using the Telegram app and Google Maps navigation, the defendants would travel to remote locations in the Zarasai and Rokiškis districts near the borders with Latvia and Belarus to pick up individuals who had illegally crossed the border – citizens of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India.

In court, the defendants claimed they did not initially realize the individuals were illegal migrants; however, an inspection of their mobile phones revealed otherwise. In the iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 Plus devices, officers discovered screenshots of routes leading directly to border zones, correspondence regarding "people in the forest," and videos where migrants were required to introduce themselves to the camera as proof for the client.

In one of the recordings, a defendant's voice is heard welcoming the migrants by saying "welcome to Kaunas." In the court's assessment, this data confirms that the convicts were fully aware of the illegality of their activities.

Although the Honda Accord used to transport the individuals belonged to a completely different person and was returned to its legal owner, the convicts did not escape financial liability. Since the vehicle was a direct tool of the crime, the court decided to recover an amount corresponding to the car's value from both defendants – 1,030 euros from each.

Furthermore, the court confiscated the criminally obtained benefit – 1,050 euros received for previously completed illegal transportations – as well as the mobile phones of both convicts.

When determining the sentence, the court took into account that a serious crime was committed for selfish motives. Although the defendants are young and have no prior convictions, the court emphasized their frivolous attitude toward the law.

"The defendants' criminal actions were essentially driven by a frivolous attitude toward values protected by law and an insufficient perception of the punishability of the act," the court judgment noted.

Having evaluated the confession and sincere remorse of both defendants, the court reduced their sentences by one-third. Both were handed a final sentence of 2 months of imprisonment. Since the defendants had been in custody since November 13, 2025, the court credited this time toward the imposed sentence and declared that the sentences had already been served. The convicts were released in the courtroom.

The verdict of the Panevėžys Regional Court may be appealed to the Lithuanian Court of Appeal within 20 days.

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