VARAZDIN, Oct 26 (Hina) - Border police from Varazdin captured 23 +Turkish and one Croatian citizen (Z.Z., 21) from Zagreb the +previous night while they were attempting to illegally cross the +state border in the village of Dubrava
Krizevska.+ As it was stated at the press conference of the Varazdin Police +Department on Monday, the Croatian citizen was smuggling the Turks +in a mini-van with Italian licence plates and drove at high speed +towards the Slovene village of Zavrca. + The border police first tried to stop the van by blocking the road +with their official vehicle, but the driver didn't stop. He instead +changed direction, heading towards a different road which led to +the Slovene village of Svabovo, where they were stopped for a second +time by another border patrol. Again the driver did not stop the +car, but drove back towards the main road leading from Dubrava +Krizovljanska to
VARAZDIN, Oct 26 (Hina) - Border police from Varazdin captured 23
Turkish and one Croatian citizen (Z.Z., 21) from Zagreb the
previous night while they were attempting to illegally cross the
state border in the village of Dubrava Krizevska.
As it was stated at the press conference of the Varazdin Police
Department on Monday, the Croatian citizen was smuggling the Turks
in a mini-van with Italian licence plates and drove at high speed
towards the Slovene village of Zavrca.
The border police first tried to stop the van by blocking the road
with their official vehicle, but the driver didn't stop. He instead
changed direction, heading towards a different road which led to
the Slovene village of Svabovo, where they were stopped for a second
time by another border patrol. Again the driver did not stop the
car, but drove back towards the main road leading from Dubrava
Krizovljanska to Zavrc.
After a while, he drove the van into a field and stopped. Together
with the persons he was smuggling, the driver fled the car running
towards Slovenia, but the group was soon chased down by the border
police who captured five Turks and the driver. The rest managed to
escape into a cornfield where they were caught during the night.
After this, the police reinforced their control of the road towards
the border crossing in Dubrava Krizovljanska, and around 3 a.m.
caught a group of seven Turkish citizens near a petrol station,
where they were probably waiting to be smuggled accross the border.
The police investigation is still under way.
On Saturday,the previous day a border patrol seized three cars with
Slovene licence plates, driven by Slovene citizens, in an attempt
to illegally cross the state border near the village of Veliki
Lovrecan in the direction of the Slovene village of Velika Nedelja.
In the first car there were four Iraqis and a two-year-old child, in
the second four Turks, and in the third a further four Turkish
citizens.
According to statements from the Varazdin Police Department, in
five cases last week 42 persons tried to cross the state border
illegally.
(hina) jfk/ab