German authorities have detected 320 migrants attempting to cross the Polish border in southern Brandenburg irregularly last weekend alone.
On Monday, Berlin police headquarters have also revealed that fourteen smugglers have also been arrested. Most of those trying to enter Germany were Syrian or Turkish nationals.
As Info Migrants explains, last Friday, a van driver tried to evade federal police officers who were trying to check the vehicle on the A15 highway at the Forst junction near the German-Polish border. As a result, the police officers arrested the vehicle driver while the suspected smugglers and the passenger managed to leave.
According to the police, the operatives discovered 24 immigrants from Syria and two from Yemen, as well as two minors, who had been transported to the cargo area without proper security measures.
In addition, authorities arrested a group of 42 people from Turkey, including 19 children, at the Cottbus South exit of the A15 highway. Thus, six suspected smugglers were detained, one from Turkey and five from Georgia. Meanwhile, police in Saxony found 49 people, including 20 children, locked in a van for several hours in high-temperature conditions.
Earlier this month, due to an apparent increase in people-smuggling activities, the East German state of Saxony deployed more police officers to patrol regions along the borders with Poland and the Czech Republic.
In this regard, State Minister of the Interior Armin Schuster pointed out that the police officers of Saxony are cooperating closely with the German federal police to fight the smuggling of immigrants.
Schuster also added that the state has seen a significant increase in cross-border criminal activities, highlighting cases where migrants, including children, are abandoned in the middle of the night by smugglers.
Last month, Europol arrested 19 people, including 16 Syrians and three Moroccans, who were facilitating the transport of undocumented migrants from Spain to Germany and Norway.
As part of the operation, law enforcement authorities confiscated over €10,000 in cash and several documents.
Recently, Germany has experienced a new record in the number of refugees and asylum seekers residing in the country, mirroring a larger trend across Europe, with some countries witnessing a significant increase in arrivals.
Currently, a total of 3.26 million people are registered in the Central Register of Foreigners of Germany, which means 111,000 more than the number registered at the beginning of the year.
Data provided by the same source also show that more than 279,098 people are technically required to leave the country. Still, they are currently tolerated due to specific circumstances or factors.
