People-smuggling into Europe via Bulgaria, Hungary on the increase: Austrian official

Border closures at the Macedonia-Greece border have led to an increase in people-smuggling operations into central Europe via Bulgaria and Hungary, an Austrian official said on Tuesday.

Speaking to the Oe1 Morgenjournal radio program, Gerald Tatzgern from the Federal Criminal Police Office (BK) said smugglers are trying to avoid losing their business through the tightened border controls.

They are particularly active in larger refugee camps such as in Turkey, from where they conduct their operations not only to Greece but also to Bulgaria, where the BK has observed increased activity, he said. This has also been the case for Hungary, despite being one of the first countries to erect border fences following the onset of the crisis.

The Balkans region is home to hundreds of smuggler networks each consisting of about 10 to 15 people who then organize further travel through individual countries, Tatzgern said.

In order to tackle the problem, Austrian authorities are putting a focus on intensifying cooperation with both Greece and Turkey, he said.

The official hopes new Austrian government information campaigns in countries such as Afghanistan intended to discourage people from attempting to emigrate illegally should have a positive effect. Endite