Hidden for more than six hours in a “pallet box” a few decimeters high on the underside of a truck: around 40 people are said to have been brought from Romania to Austria. The police have now arrested two men from Turkey aged 39 and 56 as suspected smugglers.
The police had observed the truck that the two were using after a tip from the German police. The 39-year-old suspect was first arrested when he drove his truck to a rest area near Schwechat on January 22. There were eight people with Turkish citizenship in the pallet box on the underside of the truck. They were arrested and applied for asylum. His 56-year-old accomplice and compatriot was arrested in Graz on Friday. As reported by the police, the refugees were in a life-threatening situation during the journey. Some are said to have passed out on the way because of the truck’s exhaust fumes. The eight found on January 22 were severely hypothermic. The 39-year-old says that he used this approach to bring a total of around 40 refugees into the country at least eight times. The men demanded around 15,000 euros per person. The police are currently investigating other accomplices.
Source: Nachrichten
