Routes, strategies and contacts: Such information could be stored on smugglers’ cell phones. But the police have little opportunity to evaluate this.
The police union (GdP) complains about massive problems with material and personnel in the fight against smuggling gangs. “There are thousands of smugglers’ cell phones in the offices that have not been read because we have neither the appropriate personnel nor the technology for this,” said Andreas Roßkopf, the chairman responsible for federal police and customs, to the Düsseldorf “Rheinische Post”.
You’re months behind. “The evaluation could potentially reveal important information about routes, strategies and contacts.”
The fight against smugglers is an important political project in order to curb the large influx of migrants. There is also discussion about the introduction of more stationary controls at the borders with Poland and the Czech Republic – as already exists on the border with Austria. The Union has been putting pressure on this for a long time.
The federal states also spoke out in favor of this in a resolution at the Prime Minister’s Conference on Friday. Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has shown herself to be open to this in principle, but has so far relied on flexible controls. She argues that no one who requests asylum can be turned back at the border anyway.
However, smugglers are easier to catch with stationary checks, because during checks across the border they have often already disappeared by the time the police pick up those who have entered the country irregularly. According to the Federal Police, 1,683 smugglers had already been caught online by the end of August, significantly more than the 1,465 in the same period in 2022.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
