2.02.2024 19:52
(Akt. 2.02.2024 19:52)
Overcrowded smuggling vehicle without insurance caught at the Hörbranz border crossing. © Federal Police Lindau; VOL.AT/Hofmeister
On Thursday, February 1, 2024, the German federal police picked up nine Ukrainian nationals in a minibus at the Hörbranz border crossing (BAB 96).
The car, registered in Ukraine, had no liability insurance and only had eight seats. The family of seven traveling with them also did not have the necessary travel documents.
Overloaded van stopped without insurance
In the morning, Lindau federal police stopped a van registered in Ukraine that was occupied by nine people at the Sigmarszell checkpoint. However, the vehicle was only designed to carry eight people. None of the occupants were wearing seat belts and only two of the six children had a child seat available. Sometimes the little ones had to sit on top of each other.
The 31-year-old driver and his 12-year-old son were able to provide the officials with valid German residence permits for verification. The other two adults, the driver’s 30-year-old sister and her 31-year-old husband, only had Ukrainian ID cards. For the five children, aged between six and fourteen, the parents only presented Ukrainian birth certificates, some of them only as copies.
Asylum process discontinued: family entered the country anyway
The federal police determined that all Ukrainians entered Germany for the first time in May 2023 and applied for asylum. The family of seven had already left for Ukraine in September 2023. The immigration authorities therefore stopped the asylum procedures for these migrants.
According to the father of the family, they traveled from Ukraine via Germany to visit Switzerland two weeks ago. Now they are on their way to their home country again.
The officers also found out that there was no insurance coverage for the 31-year-old’s vehicle in Germany. Apparently this wasn’t the first uninsured trip. The Tirschenreuth district court is currently processing a criminal order against the man for driving without compulsory insurance.
Penalty order and reports
The federal police also investigated that father and son, who are registered as residents in the Eichstätt district, have been considered unknown by the responsible immigration authorities since December 2023.
The 31-year-old driver received reports of violating the compulsory insurance law and attempting to smuggle in foreigners under life-threatening circumstances. The officers seized the van and its keys, took the documents of the suspected smuggler driver and his son into custody and forwarded them to the immigration office responsible for them in the evening.
The other migrants under criminal responsibility were reported for attempting to enter the country without permission. The federal police refused them entry into Germany.
2024-02-02 18:54:46
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