Since last Monday, there have been stationary checks on travel traffic at the land borders in the north and west of Germany. So far, this has not caused major traffic chaos.
During the first five days of border controls at all German land borders, 540 people were turned away by the federal police at the borders out of 898 illegal entries. This was reported by “Bild am Sonntag”. A total of 23 of these rejections concerned people who had previously been deported from Germany.
Federal Police President Dieter Romann confirmed the figures to the newspaper. He said: “Thanks to the good work of the many officers, our measures at the border are working.” According to information from the newspaper, ten suspected people smugglers were arrested at the border controls within five days and 114 outstanding arrest warrants were executed.
The Federal Police in Hanover announced that the stationary controls at the border between the Netherlands and Lower Saxony had started without any major problems. The controls were also “met with understanding by many travelers”.
Drug smugglers caused a stir
Last Monday, three drug smugglers who tried to evade control at the German-Dutch border caused a stir. Officials stopped them after a short escape across the motorway. They had been transporting hashish in their trunk.
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) had ordered that there should be stationary controls at all land borders from September 16. She justified the additional controls, which affect France, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, with irregular migration.
Such controls have been in place at the borders with Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland since mid-October. They were introduced at the German-Austrian land border in autumn 2015. Border controls are not actually planned in the Schengen area.
According to the Federal Police in Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, border controls at crossings to France, Luxembourg and Belgium have so far been carried out without any outstanding incidents. “We have had arrests that justify the checks,” said a spokesman for the Federal Police in Trier. There have been cases of illegal entry, drug finds and violations of weapons laws. In addition, arrest warrants have been executed and there have been individual rejections.
The fixed border control on the A64 motorway to Luxembourg caused a traffic jam lasting 20 to 25 minutes at its peak, the spokesman said.
The President of the Federal Criminal Police Office, Holger Münch, believes that the controls are effective in the fight against people smuggling. “The number of detections has increased with the controls,” he told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND). However, investigations into people smuggling networks also require strong international cooperation. “This can be very successful, and the Federal Police in particular are very active here,” he said. Last year, around 4,000 suspects were recorded – around a quarter more than the year before.
Source: Stern
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