Czech Police Detect 31 Iraqi Migrants Trying to Reach Germany Via Republic

Czech police arrested near the border with Germany four families from Iraq, who did not have neither permission to enter the country, nor to reside in the Czech Republic.

PRAGUE (Sputnik) — Czech police on Monday stopped near the German border a minivan with UK license plates, carrying 31 Iraqi citizens, local media said.

"So far, we have found out that there were four families from Iraq. None of the Iraqis has neither permission to enter the country, nor to reside in the Czech Republic. All of them are now in police custody, as well as the driver, who is a citizen of Romania," Katerina Rendlova, the spokeswoman for a unit of the Czech police dealing with foreigners, told reporters.

Numbers of undocumented migrants trying to cross the Czech Republic to reach Germany and other Western countries have significantly increased since June 2015.

In 2015, Czech police have detained 8,175 undocumented migrants.

Illegal migration peaked at 1,767 in August and declined in October-November to about 500 people.

The Czech Republic tightened controls on foreign residents in June. Law enforcement officials have conducted regular interstate train and bus inspections since then, and extended controls across 20 crossings along the Austrian border.