Smugglers transport 41 refugees in the hold of a box truck through the Czech Republic

Smugglers tried to transport 41 refugees from Syria through the Czech Republic in the hold of a box van. The journey ended Sunday on a country road just outside Liberec in northern Bohemia when the van broke down with engine damage. The cause was likely overloading due to the large number of people, police said Monday. Other drivers had alerted the authorities, they said. The Syrians tried to flee, but were tracked down and apprehended with the help of a police helicopter. The smugglers could escape meanwhile.

Liberec is located just under 25 kilometers southeast of the Saxon border town of Zittau. Because of the broken down van, there were longer traffic delays, as the road in this area has only one lane in each direction.

In the fight against irregular migration to Europe, the Czech police have been carrying out tighter controls on the border with Slovakia since the middle of last week. Germany carries out additional controls in addition to the intensive Schleierfahndung in the entire border area to the Czech Republic. In addition, there are joint patrols already on the territory of the neighboring country.