At the airport in Athens

Investigator from Carinthia exposes camouflaged fugitives

Especially in the summer season, refugees like to disguise themselves as holidaymakers and try to travel from Athens airport to Austria by charter plane.(Bild: KAROLOS_KARIDIS)

Carinthia's top investigator Reinhold Wiedergut was deployed again and spent over two months at Athens airport this summer taking a close look at travelers with tickets to Austria. 

For once, the Villach investigator's duty roster did not actually include any foreign assignments this summer - but the top investigator did not hesitate for long when he was asked whether he would like to step in and assist his Greek colleagues at Eleftherios Venizelos Airport in Athens as a so-called document consultant due to the absence of a colleague.

Top investigator Reinhold Wiedergut on one of his many missions abroad - here during a document check in Italy.(Bild: zVg)

As a rule, the investigator from Villach pulls criminals out of circulation on the highway.(Bild: Klaus Loibnegger)

Eleftherios Venizelos Airport in Athens.(Bild: Flughafen Athen)

Reinhold Wiedergut is one of Austria's top experts in detecting forged documents and has been stationed in countless countries around the globe. "Our mission on the ground is to help our Greek colleagues recognize forged documents. Officially, this only applies to passengers boarding airplanes bound for Austria. But thanks to our expertise, we are also regularly called in to help with suspects who want to fly to other destinations," says the Carinthian in an interview with the "Krone" newspaper.

In sandals and white tennis socks
Collegial assistance on the ground that is entirely in the interests of self-interest. The aim of deploying officers abroad is to stop illegal immigrants before they even have Austrian soil under their feet. And the locations in Greece are not chosen at random, especially during the summer season. "Many refugees try to take advantage of mass tourism and smuggle themselves onto charter flights," says Reinhold Wiedergut.

And the refugees are getting more and more creative. "They try to adapt to the typical image of a holidaymaker and travel in sandals, white tennis socks, for example - and often with a camera around their neck." Others, on the other hand, disguise themselves as business travelers - in fine threads, with a shirt, tie, nice shoes and a trolley.

Treacherous disguise
Particularly striking: "Unlike last year, this year a conspicuous number of refugees tried to board the planes disguised as Arab tourists, dressed in the typical garb of the country." In view of the fact that passengers of Arab origin now usually dress in Western clothes when traveling to the EU, this is not such a clever disguise.