In a statement to the press, Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner touched upon the police’s work against organized crime and human smugglers.
Stating that organized crime organizations abused this situation after the Russia-Ukraine War, and illegal entry into the country increased in this process, Karner claimed that the system called the “Schengen zone” did not work well enough.
Emphasizing that every precaution should be taken against human smugglers and organized crime formations, Karner stated that 700 human smugglers were detained between May 2022 and March 2023, and a Romanian person brought 6,000 people to Austria illegally in this process.
Pointing to the importance of maintaining controls at the borders, Karner said that international cooperation is important in the fight against irregular migration.
Interior Minister Karner announced on April 12 that they wanted to extend the controls applied at the borders of Hungary and Slovakia for another 6 months.