According to Swiss public broadcaster SRF, the 48-year-old Italian was travelling with four Iraqis and now faces trial for facilitating the illegal entry of migrants. The Iraqi citizens the man smuggled in his car are between 20 and 45 years old, according police. The suspected smuggler was wanted in several cantons. The four Iraqis he smuggled applied for asylum. They are charged with intentional and unlawful entry into the country.
In recent years, Switzerland is reporting higher numbers of smugglers believed to be ferrying migrants through the country to points north, according to the Federal Customs Office.
Between January and August 2017, border guards arrested 271 people on suspicion of smuggling, compared to 197 over the same period a year before, according to numbers obtained by the Swiss news agency SDA. Most of those arrested came from Switzerland, followed by Italy, Germany, Kosovo and Syria. Among the smugglers, 231 used road networks while 36 brought migrants over the border via the train and four used airline routes.
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Switzerland's economy grew slightly at the start of 2024, with growth in the service sector contrasting with weak growth in industry.
Swiss employment rate rises in first quarter of 2023
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The number of women and foreign nationals in employment increased particularly strongly, the Federal Statistical Office said on Thursday.
Coercion still an issue in Swiss welfare system, report finds
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The rights of vulnerable people are still sometimes disregarded by the Swiss welfare system, a national research programme has found.
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Viola Amherd has expressed her “deep shock” at the assassination attempt on Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico on Wednesday.
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A man injured half a dozen people with knives, two of them seriously, before being arrested on Wednesday in northern Switzerland.
Switzerland to introduce flight passenger database
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Switzerland plans to introduce a flight passenger database to collect and process personal data in a bid to combat terrorism and serious crime.
Government plans to invest over CHF16bn in Swiss rail network
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The federal government intends to invest CHF16.4 billion ($18.1 billion) in railway infrastructure between 2025 and 2028, CHF2 billion more than for the current period.
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.
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Swiss politician guilty of helping illegal immigrants
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In a statement released on Thursday, the prosecutor said Mirra was guilty of violating the Swiss law on foreigners, and handed her an 80-day fine suspended for two years. The member of the Social Democratic party and her accomplice were intercepted by border guards in September 2016 while transporting four migrants of African origin in…
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Switzerland is reporting higher numbers of smugglers believed to be ferrying migrants through the country to points north, according to the latest data and statements by the Federal Customs Office. David Marquis, a spokesperson for the customs authorities, told the SonntagsBlick newspaper that “more smuggling is taking place compared to previous years”. Border guards, Marquis…
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The hard-hitting advert, which has been aired on prime-time television in Cameroon and Nigeria, depicts the life of freshly arrived migrants in Europe as one fraught with problems and dangers. In the film an African migrant phones his father from somewhere in Europe in the pouring rain and assures him that all is well while…
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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.