Brno, June 21 (CTK) – The Czech police detained 12 refugees within a night check of trains that stopped in Breclav, south Moravia, after crossing the border from Austria, police spokeswoman Pavel Svab told the media yesterday, adding that the refugees came from Syria, Afghanistan and Gambia.
One Afghan man was detained in a coach coming from Austria on Saturday.
A check of another train this morning uncovered one illegal migrant from Syria, raising the total of the detained refugees to 14 this weekend.
Nine refugees without a Czech residence permit were uncovered on the Chopin express train going from Vienna to Warsaw, and another three on the EuroNight Metropol train bound for Berlin, Svab said.
“We are trying to find out whether they have applied for asylum in an EU country. They include a pregnant woman and two juveniles. That is why we are cooperating with the office for the social and legal protection of children,” Svab said.
To face illegal migration, the Czech police have recently intensified their checks on the roads and railways, mainly in the southern regions bordering on Austria.
For most refugees, the Czech Republic is a transit country.
In the first five months of 2015, the Czech foreigner police uncovered 2,418 foreigners illegally staying in the country, which is an increase by 712 compared with the same period of 2014.
The police also registered a higher number of Kosovo, Syrian and Afghani nationals who were caught when trying to illegally cross the Czech border to Germany.
The EU has been faced with a wave of refugees from Africa, Syria and other countries stricken by wars and poverty. The European Commission has proposed the introduction of quotas for the redistribution of refugees among all EU member states.
Prague, like the neighbouring Slovakia and Poland, has rejected the plan and said it wants to solve the migration crisis on the principle of voluntary measures.
