Targeting smugglers and drugs: VOL.AT during the major police check

The officials have noticed an increase in illegal entries in particular in recent months. Recently, on the route via Vorarlberg onto the A96, people who had entered Germany illegally were stopped almost every day.

On the occasion of the increased controls around the last G7 summit in Elmau, the control point at the A96 near Sigmarszell was expanded and now offers an ideal location for regular controls. While checks are carried out throughout the year as part of the veil manhunt, large joint checks by customs, the Federal Police and the State Police now take place several times a year. “This also allows us to get a better picture of the situation, where the current priorities are. Be it illegal entry or the smuggling of drugs or weapons,” said the Federal Police Operations Manager in an interview with VOL.AT.

A large-scale operation like Thursday always means a logistical challenge for the police. More than 20 customs officials and two drug detection dogs were on duty. Already at the Lindau exit there was a first checkpoint to detect vehicles that might want to bypass the checkpoint. On the motorway itself, the traffic was slowed down by the officials before the control point and finally combined in one lane. As a result, officials were then able to divert individual vehicles that appeared suspicious to the control station.

Above all, vans and long-distance coaches arouse the interest of the officials, but expensive luxury vehicles were also the target of the controls. “Especially in the long-distance coaches, we almost always get a hit, since many migrants use this inexpensive travel option,” said an official in an interview. While a patrol on a long-distance coach from Barcelona was able to stop six Syrians on Thursday morning, the checks on two buses from Italy in the evening were unsuccessful.

However, the officials were able to prevent a smuggling. A Turkish citizen registered in Austria had tried to enter the country with two compatriots without ID. The three men are now expected to be reported for attempted unauthorized entry. The driver can expect another display of driving without a license.

In addition to illegal entry, the search for drugs or other illegal objects in the vehicles of those arriving from Vorarlberg was the focus of the control. The two drug detection dogs Oli and Eck from German Customs and their handlers meticulously examined the people and vehicles. Here, too, there was no great success in the search on Thursday evening. However, a Luxembourg driver was found who had a small amount of cocaine with him and was obviously under the influence of narcotics. He is also expected to be charged with violating the Narcotics Act.

Overall, it was a quiet evening for the Federal Police. In addition to the aforementioned smuggling and the small amount of drugs, a one-handed knife that was readily available in the vehicle of a Serbian national was also secured, which constitutes a violation of the Weapons Act. A total of over 120 people were checked during the control period. As a side note, there was also a professional soccer player from a German Bundesliga club, who, however, was able to continue his journey after his personal details were checked.