Tachov, West Bohemia, March 23 (CTK) – A Czech court imposed Wednesday a 18-month jail sentence and five-year expulsion from the country on two Hungarian people-traffickers in whose lorry the police uncovered 76 refugees last year.
There were children, including infants, among the refugees from Pakistan and Afghanistan uncovered on the D5 motorway in west Bohemia.
The two Hungarians, Zoltan Kapinecz, 50, and Menyhert Sas, 38, faced up to five years in prison for organising an illegal crossing of the border.
Judge Miroslav Vajgant said the two had together intentionally joined the operation of an organised gang.
“There is undoubtedly a whole network assisting in the smuggling of refugees. The suspects were a part of it, though the lowest-level one,” Vajgant said.
According to him, the refugees’ movement was organised by their compatriots or people from the Middle East. The Bangladeshi and Pakistani were mentioned most often in this connection, he said.
The two Hungarians asserted that they did not know about the people hidden in the lorry and had no clue about how the people got in the vehicle.
Vajgant, however, said it is not probable that the experienced drivers failed to notice that the lorry was crowded.
Kapinecz and Sas said they were crossing the Czech Republic on their way to Nuremberg were they were to load a forklift on their lorry.
German authorities suspect Kapinecz and Sas of repeated smuggling of people. Czech courts previously decided that the two would be extradited to Germany after their case is closed in the Czech Republic.
The state attorney proposed that the two be sentenced to 3.5 years in prison at least.
Their defence demanded their acquittal.
According to testimonies read in the courtroom, some refugees had left their homes up to several years ago. Their journey was reportedly organised by agents who contacted them in refugee camps. They required thousands of euros or dollars for smuggling a family. The amount of 400 euros was usually required for the transfer from Hungary to Germany.
Last year, Czech courts convicted a total of 62 people of organising the illegal crossing of borders, which was 43 more than in 2014.
Ten and four people were convicted of people smuggling in 2012 and 2013, respectively.
Last year, the Czech police detained 168 people who helped foreigners cross the state border or illegally stay in the Czech Republic. The total included 118 people smugglers, 114 more than in 2014.
