N

Austria increases patrol efforts on the border with Hungary

Following recent attempts at smuggling migrants through EU nations, border patrols have been stepped up between Austria and Hungary

Austria has stepped up their control efforts on the border with Hungary, with police checking vehicles at the main crossings and soldiers patrolling the border lines.

Police sources say the measures have been put in place to ensure that no one crosses illegally and to prevent the smuggling of migrants into EU nations, according to the Boston Globe.

Hungarian authorities have recently reported more attempts at smuggling migrants through the country. Two Britons and an Indian were arrested in Hungary on Saturday night accused of trying to transport more than a dozen refugees illegally to Austria.

Before the border block, tens of thousands of migrants seeking better lives in prosperous EU countries came through Hungary and then through Austria until Hungary reinforced its green border with a protective fence to stop the illegal immigration.

Nearly 54,000 migrants and refugees are currently stranded in Greece since Europe closed its land borders to the influx of migrants heading toward central Europe.

Greece’s coast guard said that authorities in the western Greek port of Patras arrested a truck driver after finding 11 migrants hidden in the vehicle’s cargo.

The coast guard said the 58-year-old driver was arrested the previous day on suspicion of attempting to smuggle the migrants abroad.

In a separate development, Poland’s Interior Ministry said it will send 120 border guards, police, and migration bureau officers to Greece to help protect EU borders under the mass inflow of refugees.

A communique on the ministry website said that due to the ‘‘continuing migration crisis in Europe,’’ 60 border guard officers and 40 police officers with the necessary equipment will soon support Europe’s border protection agency, Frontex, in securing Greece’s border, which is also the EU’s external border.