2023-09-22 03:13:18
After Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) promised extraordinary controls at the borders with Italy in view of the situation in Lampedusa, a tighter control network is being implemented at the Tyrolean Brenner border. This includes random checks on the Brenner motorway (A13). A local inspection on Thursday revealed that the state of emergency is still far away, but control is increasingly in the air.
“Random police checks” – that seems to be the “migration motto” at the Brenner Pass at the moment. For example, starting on Thursday morning, the police checked vehicles at the Schönberg toll booth for 24 hours. “The migration situation is still manageable,” Tyrol’s state police director Helmut Tomac hastened to restrict during a media-accompanied local inspection and went on to explain that there was also increased emphasis on train controls and veiled searches in the hinterland.
However, the situation in Italy is currently “worrying,” admitted Tomac. In the southern neighboring country we are dealing with “around 120,000 landings”. This still has no real impact on illegal migration in Austria or in Tyrol: “In Austria we are currently talking regarding 1,500 to 2,000 arrests per week, in Tyrol it is 80 to 140 a week.” The routes chosen also tended not to lead over the Brenner Pass: “This route is well monitored and is therefore little used.”
But we are preparing “for different scenarios.” “We know from 2015 that things can be completely different from one day to the next,” emphasized the state police director. With this in mind, he wanted the 24-hour control at the toll booth to be understood: “We check at different locations, both on the motorway and on the federal highway as a possible alternative route.” There were around six arrests on Tuesday.
“Tatort Brennerroute”, Thursday evening. At 7:30 p.m. darkness fell and there were no arrests. The procedure used to check the vehicles and their occupants always followed the same pattern. Two police officers pointed the vehicles to the place where the check took place with a red stop light and finger pointing. Vehicle documents, passports and driving licenses were requested in various languages, often in Italian. Trucks were excluded from the controls.
Of the vehicles inspected, i.e. cars, small trucks and vans, the density of the latter was particularly high. Numerous trunks were opened, countless short conversations were held regarding their contents and a lot of persuasion was done regarding the necessity of the checks. “But most of them are understanding,” said one of the officials. From time to time you just have to explain more precisely and in more detail what is going on and why.
Every now and then there were discussions as to why exactly this vehicle was flagged out and the other was not. “It might have been because of the expensive car brand,” one driver speculated humorously. Another pointed out that he mightn’t open the trunk because he was carrying pharmaceutical products. The officer followed the advice, especially since the papers were unremarkable.
By the end of the (media) local inspection on Thursday, there were around 300 vehicles checked. By Friday morning there will probably be dozens more. It is now important to “show your presence,” emphasized Police Chief Tomac.
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