Austria Increases Its Police Contingent on Hungarian-Serbian Border to Combat Human Smuggling

The Ministry of Interior of Austria said that the number of police officers on the Hungarian-Serbian border would be increased from 50 to 70. Such an increase was determined by the Minister of Interior of Austria, Gerhard Karner and the Minister of Interior of Hungary, Sandor Pinter, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.

Commenting on the decision to increase the Austrian police contingent on the Hungarian-Serbian border, Karner said that “we have to be more flexible than the smugglers themselves are”.

According to the Ministry, the members of the Austrian contingent at the Hungarian-Serbian border stopped around 18,000 people so far this year. In addition, the same noted that as a result of these checks, the Hungarian police were able to arrest around 80 people smugglers.

Karner and Pinter agreed on a joint project that provides tactical police measures and includes the deployment of Austrian police officers who can be deployed flexibly on Hungarian territory and can therefore work outside of planned priority actions.

“The issue of police cooperation in the fight against people smuggling is particularly important to both of us. Fighting people-smuggling crime must continue to have absolute priority, we’re doing it on three levels,” Karner said.

In addition to the above-mentioned, Karner said that another 115 smugglers were arrested in 150 priority actions. Moreover, he pointed out that the border controls in Austria have so far led to 354 arrests of smugglers nationwide.

Commenting on the current situation on the Hungarian-Serbian border, Karner said that it has deteriorated due to the armed and extremely brutal smuggling mafia.

The Ministry said that work is currently underway on setting up a “Task Force to Combat Human Smuggling”. The aim of this task force is to make joint international investigations into smuggling groups.

Earlier this year, the Austrian police helped dismantle an international people smuggling network. During an operation that took place in May, a total of 205 people were arrested in Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia.

Of the total number of these people, 92 of them were arrested in Austria. Back then, Karner said that this was all possible to the close cooperation with the other countries. Apart from arresting individuals, the police also seized over 80 tractor vehicles as well as revealed that in this case alone, the tugboat sales amounted to more than €152 million.