Suspected smuggler arrested in Löcknitz
Federal police officers have arrested a suspected refugee smuggler in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district. The 31-year-old Ukrainian is said to have brought two Afghans and a man from Iran to Germany from Poland, the federal police announced on Wednesday. Customs officers had stopped the car at Löcknitz railroad station early on Tuesday morning. The federal police have filed an arrest application against the driver with the public prosecutor's office, the statement continued. The three passengers were taken to a refugee shelter in Schwerin.
Five other refugees from Syria and Turkmenistan were apprehended on Tuesday afternoon near the border in Grambow (Vorpommern-Greifswald district). According to the federal police, they were also taken to the initial reception center in Schwerin. Torn-up remnants of Lithuanian documents were also found on the Polish side of the border. These indicated that they had been smuggled in via the so-called Belarus route.
The arrest of the Ukrainian in Löcknitz highlights the ongoing issue of refugee smuggling, a form of crime that often coexists with migration. The apprehension of five other refugees near the Grambow border also underscores the complex Challenge of managing migration and preventing illegal crossings.
Source: www.dpa.com
