The head of the department referred to relevant discussions with his counterparts Czech Republic and Poland. Border controls initially began on October 4 and were initially limited to ten days. The argument was that smugglers’ routes should be avoided.
This step is being taken in close coordination with the Czech Republic, which, together with Poland, has expanded border controls with Slovakia, as well as in coordination with the Slovak security authorities. O Measure against smuggling crime Originally scheduled to end on Saturday, it now runs until November 2nd.
“Consistently combat the crime of smuggling”.
This means that the police eleven official border crossings to the neighboring country continue to check until the beginning of November. During this period, crossing the “green border” is not permitted. According to the Ministry of the Interior, checks at border crossings are carried out specifically against criminal smugglers and are intended to disrupt suburban traffic as little as possible.
At the same time, the border area is also increasingly monitored. “The police must be faster than criminal smugglers, who immediately change their routes if their business is disrupted. To ensure there is no evasive movement through Austria, we are maintaining border controls. The fact that the police consistently combating smuggling crime is more than demonstrated by just these 500 arrests this year,” said Interior Minister Karner.
Czech Republic: Twelve smugglers detained
According to the DPA, Poland and the Czech Republic are also extending their temporary border controls with Slovakia until the beginning of November, in the fight against smuggling crime. In Prague, the liberal-conservative cabinet approved a corresponding regulation on Wednesday evening. This follows decisions taken in neighboring countries, it was said in Prague.
Cross-border traffic should be hampered as little as possible. “There are good results and clear impacts. There will be no illegal migration routes through Poland,” he said. Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski on Thursday to explain his decision. Slovakia continues to carry out random border checks with Hungary. All four states belong to the Schengen area, where, in fact, there should no longer be any border controls.
Since stricter checks in Slovakia began on October 4, Czech police say they have checked 43,749 people. 283 migrants who entered illegally were detained and twelve smugglers were detained. According to Polish Interior Minister Kaminski, around 550 irregularly arriving migrants have been caught at the border between Poland and Slovakia since controls began.