Via Seefeld route

Sinful escape in an overcrowded car was discovered

This boy had to sit upside down on the center console from Slovenia.(Bild: Bundespolizeiinspektion Rosenheim)

There have now been two strikingly similar attacks on refugees on the Seefeld in Tirol - Mittenwald (Bavaria) route. Smugglers collected up to 14,000 euros per person and are now in custody. One boy had to sit upside down on the center console from Slovenia.

Away from the main routes and highways, the Scharnitz border crossing seems to be popular with people smugglers. This is shown by two recent cases:

At the entrance to Garmisch-Partenkirchen these days, German officers stopped a five-seater registered in Poland with seven people in it.

Another boy was unsecured between the front seats on the center console.

Rainer Scharf, Bundespolizei Rosenheim

"Three men and a minor were sitting in the rear seat, which is designed for three passengers. It was therefore not possible to fasten the seat belts. Another boy was unsecured between the front seats on the center console," says Rainer Scharf from the Federal Police in Rosenheim.

Last stage of an organized tour
Only the Ukrainian driver, the suspected trafficker, was able to identify himself. The passengers, who said they were from Syria, said that they had boarded in Slovenia as the last stage of an organized tour. The smugglers are said to have initially demanded 9,000 euros per person, then up to 14,000 euros in some cases during the course of the journey. Two Syrians (22 and 25 years old) are now in a reception center for refugees.

Four men and boys shared the back seat of the car.(Bild: Bundespolizeiinspektion Rosenheim)

Minors now in the care of the youth welfare office
The two minors are brothers aged 11 and 14. They suspect that their family may be in Germany, but they do not know which city their relatives are actually in. Both were entrusted to the care of the Garmisch-Partenkirchen Youth Welfare Office. Following a court order, the 36-year-old driver was taken into custody on Tuesday and sent to Munich-Stadelheim prison.

Another case involving Syrians and a Ukrainian trafficker
The federal police had already brought a 46-year-old Ukrainian there the day before. He is also alleged to have smuggled in several Syrian migrants. The car with a total of six occupants was stopped near Mittenwald. The police are now investigating a connection due to the striking parallels between the cases.