– In a delivery vehicle rented for the purpose of committing a crime, behind a stack of cardboard boxes, there were 10 Turkish citizens and 3 Afghan citizens who had no documents and had illegally crossed the state border, attempting to reach the western countries of the European Union – explains Major SG Joanna Konieczniak, press spokesperson for the Nadodrzański Border Guard Branch.
She adds:
Thorough measures enabled officers to catch members of a criminal group involved in the illegal smuggling of people across the state border red-handed. All three have already been charged under Article 264 of the Criminal Code, which states that “anyone who organizes the crossing of the border of the Republic of Poland by other persons contrary to the regulations is subject to imprisonment from 6 months to 8 years.”
The District Prosecutor’s Office in Legnica asked the court to order their temporary detention.
The uniformed officers:
Border Guard officers conducted a check of the 13-person group’s legality of stay in Poland. It turned out that the foreigners had illegally crossed the state border from Slovakia into Poland and had no documents authorizing them to stay legally in Poland.
What happened to the foreigners?
Border guards: – Criminal proceedings were initiated against the foreigners. During questioning, they admitted to crossing the border contrary to the regulations by means of deception and in cooperation with other persons. They voluntarily accepted a sentence of one year in prison, suspended for a three-year probation period. In addition, they were each fined PLN 460 for illegal stay in Poland.
They add:
In addition, Border Guard officers initiated administrative proceedings aimed at obliging the foreigners to leave Poland. Until the proceedings are completed, the Turkish citizens agreed to comply with the alternative detention measures imposed on them. As the Afghans had no identity documents, they were placed in a guarded center for foreigners until their true identities could be established.
Major SG J. Konieczniak concludes:
In the Polish-German Schengen area, an increase in migration pressure from the Balkan direction has been noticeable since August this year. This is connected with the Czech Republic’s restoration of border controls on its border with Slovakia, which caused the perpetrators to shift their activities to routes leading through Poland. Specialized international criminal groups operate along this route, as they do along the Belarusian route.