"Without the knowledge of Belarusian officials and without their attention, it would be impossible for such a number to come and stay at the Belarusian border and illegally cross the border unnoticed," Pujāts said, commenting on the large-scale special operation that took place in Latvia on Tuesday.
Three border crossers continue to be treated in hospital, the other 43 have been taken back to Belarus; they are Somali nationals, the border guard chief said.
"As a minimum, a corridor has been established, but in practice, it is also certain that predominantly all this illegal migration is coordinated by the Belarusian services.
"Of course, they cooperate with people smugglers, from whom they receive certain payments in the form of bribes, so it is a joint cooperation between Belarusian officials and organized crime," Pujāts said.
In recent days, there has been an increase in the number of illegal border crossers.
