687 people smugglers were caught in Austria in 2022. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) sees great success in cooperation with the authorities in Hungary, but also in the Western Balkans. The most relevant route for smuggling into Austria is the Western Balkan route in particular.
AUSTRIA. In the previous year, 687 people smugglers were arrested in Austria and denounced in most cases. That’s a new record since 2015 after the numbers started to rise again in recent years. More than 300 people smugglers were caught in Burgenland.
Among those arrested were 99 human smugglers from Syria, 69 from Turkey, 52 from Romania and Ukraine and 32 from Austria. “There are many young people among Ukrainians, and many are used as drivers,” says Gerhard Tatzgern, head of anti-smuggling operations at the Federal Criminal Police. Many of the smugglers also took advantage of the war in Ukraine by explaining to people that because of the war there are no more border controls and getting into Europe is very easy.
Most relevant Eastern Mediterranean route
In 2022, the eastern Mediterranean route remained the most relevant for Austria. A particularly large number of people entered Austria via the Western Balkan route, which passes through Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Serbia, Romania and Hungary.
In May 2022, international investigations were successful when a Romanian smuggler who organized the smuggling of 36,000 people from Romania to Western Europe was identified. “The close cooperation with the Hungarian criminal police, but also with the Western Balkan criminal police units, will continue intensively next year,” said Karner. According to Tatzgern, there is also intense cooperation with Turkey so that “the tug business can be stopped right there”.
”Close and transnational cooperation”
“The decisive factor in the fight against the smuggling mafia is close and, above all, cross-border cooperation. The deployment of Austrian police in Hungary, Serbia or North Macedonia is an important sign of active international cooperation”, said the minister of Interior Gerhard Karner (ÖVP).
Smuggling is now one of the biggest lines of business for organized crime and would operate internationally. According to Karner, the visa-free entry of people from India and Tunisia into Serbia would be taken advantage of. This must end now. “The end of visa-free travel for Tunisians and Indians in Serbia has greatly restricted an important part of the smugglers’ business base,” explains Karner.
Agreement with India “Show Politics”
Only on Tuesday did Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg present a new deal with India that would allow people who entered India illegally to be repatriated back to their country of origin. Asylum coordination found this agreement to be a “spectacle policy”, because many of those who entered illegally had already left Austria again. As of November 2022, less than 500 people from India are registered for basic care in Austria.
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