Fight against smuggler gangs
Federal police apprehend 266 smugglers in one month
November 17, 2023, 8:13 p.m
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They are not actually planned in the Schengen area, but since October there have been stationary, temporary border controls again in some places. In addition to restricting illegal entries, the purpose of this is primarily to combat smuggling crime. Now the federal police are announcing their results.
During its checks at the German borders, the Federal Police discovered more than 11,000 unauthorized entries and arrested 266 smugglers within a month. As the Federal Police Headquarters in Potsdam announced, according to preliminary figures, the emergency services at the borders with Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland were also able to identify 3,528 people who were wanted and execute 670 outstanding arrest warrants during the same period. In addition, 173 violations of the Weapons Act and 79 violations of the Explosives Act were noted, it said.
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser initially announced stationary controls at the borders with Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland for ten days on October 16th and then extended them several times. She justified this step with the fight against irregular immigration and smuggling crime.
11,029 unauthorized entries
Controls have been in place at the land border with Austria since autumn 2015. There are actually no permanent border controls in the Schengen area.
As the Federal Police Headquarters reported, a total of 11,029 unauthorized entries were detected at the four border sections between October 16th and November 16th. 4,790 people were affected by entry bans or “stay-terminating measures”. From the beginning of January to the end of October, around 267,000 people applied for asylum in Germany for the first time – around 67 percent more than in the same period last year.