The Polish Border Guard, in cooperation with the police, has arrested four Georgian citizens accused of attempting to smuggle 38 illegal migrants across the Polish-German border.
According to the Border Guard, the smugglers resorted to dangerously cramming the migrant group into four vehicles, disregarding the potential risks to their lives.
Four Georgian citizens, aged between 28 and 46, were detained by Polish authorities on a road checkpoint in western Poland. They were driving two Volkswagens, a Mercedes, and a Jeep with Polish and German license plates.
The migrants lacked the necessary documents to enter and reside legally in Poland. Among the detained group, there were 37 Turkish citizens and one Afghan national. They were all apprehended for attempting to cross the Polish-German border in violation of the law. The Border Guard found Serbian entry stamps in the foreigners’ passports, confirming their use of the Balkan route to reach Europe.
Administrative proceedings were initiated against the Turkish citizens to return them to their home country. The foreign nationals admitted to the charges and voluntarily accepted a sentence of 6 months’ imprisonment with a conditional suspension of a one-year or two-year probationary period. The Afghan citizen, who lacked any identification documents, has been temporarily housed in a secure facility for foreign nationals until his identity is verified, as determined by the court.
The District Court in Żagań has ordered a temporary three-month detainment for the Georgian smugglers. If convicted for their role in organizing the illegal border crossing, they could face a prison sentence of up to eight years.
Foreign nationals accounted for 90 percent of individuals detained last year for facilitating illegal border crossings, with a significant number originating from Ukraine and Georgia. A similar trend was observed in the previous year as well.
