Border guards intercept more criminals but fewer illegal migrants
Developments in the Mediterranean region have reduced the number of people arriving in Switzerland without proper paperwork. However, more criminals and drugs were intercepted at the border in 2017.
According to information released by the Federal Customs Administration on Thursday, border guards processed 27,300 illegal migrants in 2017 compared to 48,000 the year before. Events in the Mediterranean had a significant impact in the number of arrivals in Ticino and Valais, it said. Of those that arrived, 17,526 were returned to foreign authorities.
More criminals tried to reach Swiss soil, however. Border guards arrested a total of 25,777 people (22,104 in 2016), 9,295 of whom had arrest warrants against their name. Customs also seized 4,263 prohibited weapons, including 64 firearms.
When it came to narcotics, khat seizures increased almost sevenfold to 4,658 kg (compared with 674 kg in 2016). Seizures of hashish and marijuana also increased significantly to 1,626 kg (455 kg in 2016). However, quantities of pills such as LSD and ecstasy fell (36,339 against 63,070).
Illegal medicines seizures remained stable with 1,060 packages intercepted (1,028 the previous year). Viagra and other erectile enhancers remain at the top of the list, accounting for 59% of the illegal medical packages seized.
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.