Human TraffickingMigrationNews

Forty-one foreign nationals found hidden in trucks, at Romania’s Nădlac II Border Crossing Point

Romanian border guards from Nadlac II Border Crossing Point have found forty-one foreign nationals trying to illegally cross the border into Hungary, hidden in various means of transport or at the “green border”. They come from Turkey, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran.

On 10th of September 2020, around 00.40, at the Border Crossing Point Nădlac II – Csanadpalota, Arad County, a 35-year-old Romanian proceeded to the border formalities, intending to leave the country, driving a  road assembly, consisting of a tractor and a semi-trailer, registered in Romania. The driver was transporting, according to the documents accompanying the goods, aluminum plates on the Romania-Switzerland route.

Following the specific risk analysis, the border guards proceeded to carry out a thorough control of the means of transport. Thus, inside the caravan were discovered, hidden in the cargo compartment, twenty-nine people.

During the first checks, the border police established that the persons in question are citizens from Turkey, all men, aged between 18 and 40 years old.

The border police guards are investigating the crimes of smuggling of migrants for the driver of the truck and the crime of attempting to cross the state border illegally against Turkish citizens, at the end of which the necessary legal measures will be taken.

On 09th of September 2020, around 00.45, also at the Nădlac II Border Crossing Point, following a telephone call to the unique emergency number 112, six foreign citizens were discovered, four people hidden in the cargo compartments of two trucks, one registered in Bulgaria and another in Romania, both parked in the parking lot on the way out of Romania. Also, two other people were caught while walking towards Hungary.

All six people were picked up and transported to the headquarters of Nadlac Border Crossing Point for investigations, where, after the checks, the border police established that the group consisted of four minors and two adults from Afghanistan and Iran, the adults being 22 and 42 years old, and the minors aged 14 and 15.

Also yesterday, 09th of September 2020, around 09.00, at the same border crossing point, a Romanian citizen proceeded to the border formalities, on the way out of the country, driving a road complex registered in Romania.

During the border control, two Turkish citizens, a man and a woman, aged 27 and 28, were discovered hidden on the spare wheels of the semi-trailer.

Four other people, citizens of Afghanistan and Pakistan, aged between 16 and 19, were also found by the border police at Nadlac II Border Crossing Point, hidden in the cargo compartment of a car driven by a Bulgarian citizen. And in this case, following the border control checks, four people were found hidden in the area destined for freight transport.

In all three cases, the hidden foreign nationals stated that they intended to illegally cross the border in order to reach countries in Western Europe, and the border police guards are investigating the crime of attempting to illegally cross the border state. Upon the completion of the investigations, the legal measures will be undertaken.