Army chief, deputy police leader visit Hungarian-Serbian border

Budapest, March 28 (MTI) – Hungary’s army chief and the deputy leader of national police visited the Hungarian-Serbian border region on Monday.

The 174 kilometre border is completely sealed to prevent illegal entry attempts by migrants, Zsolt Halmosi, the deputy police chief, said near the village of Ásotthalom.

There are more than 1,000 police officers and soldiers patrolling the region, he said, adding that cooperation is excellent with the Serbian partner authorities under which patrols are being carried out by joint teams.

In the first three months of the year, 5,589 illegal entrants have been detained along the section compared with 29,500 during the same period last year, he said.

Hungarian authorities have launched legal proceedings against 62 human smugglers since January and against more than 1,000 in 2015 as a whole, he said.