Police Styria

Focus check: two smugglers arrested

Priority checks at the Styrian borders.(Bild: LPD Stmk/Huber)

Since March 2023, the Styrian police have been carrying out more border controls together with Slovenia. A smuggler's vehicle was caught and several Iraqis arrested during a priority operation on Wednesday.

A total of 150 checks were carried out during new priority operations at the border between Styria and Slovenia on Wednesday. A 37-year-old Iraqi man and a 42-year-old Iraqi woman tried to enter Austria via the A9 Pyhrn highway in a British van.

Several people arrested
However, the officers discovered three adult Iraqis in a fold-out sofa on the loading area of the van. They had no valid travel documents and were arrested and handed over to Slovenian authorities. The two smugglers were also arrested by the police and taken to Graz-Jakomini prison.

Tighter border controls
This is not the first control operation of this kind; Styria and Slovenia have been stepping up their operations at border crossings since the beginning of March 2023. Civilian and uniformed police forces from both nations are deployed in the border area to combat illegal migration - the Austrian Armed Forces are also providing support. 2024 police officers have arrested 32 smugglers in Styria so far.