Serbian, Romanian nationals suspected of human smuggling

Budapest, August 17 (MTI) – A regional court has ordered the pre-trial detention of a Serbian national suspected of attempting to smuggle 29 illegal migrants into Austria, Zsolt Kopasz, Csongrad county’s chief prosecutor said.

Police said the man had agreed to transport migrants smuggled into Hungary from Serbia to Austria in his minivan for 1,000 euros per head. An investigation found that the man entered Hungary at the Roszke border crossing at around 1am on August 14, bought all the motorway vignettes necessary to get to Austria and parked his car at the pre-agreed location. He then took 17 Syrian and 12 Iraqi migrants on board his van, but got lost and mistakenly headed back to Roszke. The van was checked at the Roszke border station and the driver and the migrants were placed under arrest. Criminal proceedings are under way, the prosecution said.

Meanwhile, a Romanian citizen was expelled from Hungary for two years and given a 20-month suspended prison sentence by a Budapest court for attempting to smuggle 22 Syrian migrants in his truck to Germany. The driver was stopped by police at a rest area along the M1 motorway for a routine roadside check, but was arrested after his passengers failed to provide identification.

Photo: MTI

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters