"There are security deficits that we cannot accept in the interests of our population," Herrmann told Berlin-Brandenburg radio RBB.
In the neighboring Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, authorities have already reviewed some 3,300 passports. Of those, 140 Syrian passports were proven to be counterfeit, and eight of them had not been detected by BAMF.
"I have seen reports that in Bavaria police checks have established that, for instance, Syrian passports had been falsified and that BAMF failed to detect this during their checks," Herrmann told the radio.
"I don’t understand why BAMF, which has enough time to verify each passport, why they could not do that. We cannot agree with this happening right now, given the security situation in the country," he continued.
The Bavarian security chief said the region’s authorities had raked up police presence in Munich ahead of the Oktoberfest beer festival, which kicked off on Saturday. Festival ground have been fenced off for the first time in its history amid fears of terror attacks.
