– Officers of the Border Guard post in Zgorzelec received information from the German Police that a 44-year-old Ukrainian citizen was in Poland and suspected of involvement in people smuggling across the border – reports SG Major Joanna Konieczniak, press spokesperson for the Commander of the Nadodrzański Border Guard Unit.
She adds: – Earlier, German police officers attempted to arrest the man when he was transporting Iranian citizens across the border, but the Ukrainian citizen attacked the officers and tried to strangle one of them.
Taking advantage of the fact that the second German police officer was attending to his injured colleague, the suspect got into the car and drove away. He escaped to Poland.
Border guards from Zgorzelec spotted him by the A4 motorway, near one of the petrol stations. They ordered him to stop and used a service vehicle to block the front of his car, thereby preventing him from escaping. The spokesperson said: – However, the driver began reversing to escape and nearly rammed an officer who was trying to remove the keys from the ignition of his car.
The guard jumped aside at the last moment, and the 44-year-old Ukrainian again drove towards the A4 motorway. Border Guard officers began the chase.
After a while, the pursued man turned into a forest and stopped. He got out of the car and ran into dense undergrowth.
Meanwhile, the border guards informed police officers from Złotoryja, Zgorzelec and Legnica about the chase. Patrols from the Joint Polish-German Police and Border Guard Post in Ludwigsdorf, the Border Guard post in Legnica and the Legnica Municipal Police Headquarters joined the operation, as did volunteer firefighters. Thanks to the response of a service dog accompanying the German officers, the 44-year-old fell into the hands of the authorities.
SG Major J. Konieczniak: – During the arrest, police officers were forced to use direct coercive measures because the determined, aggressive and well-trained 44-year-old actively resisted arrest.
The Ukrainian now faces up to five years in prison. The prosecutor has already applied for the foreigner's temporary detention.