Lorry driver caught over the drink-drive limit
A 51-year-old lorry driver was found to be over the drink-drive limit on Thursday when he was stopped at the motorway-border crossing at Basel/Weil am Rhein.
Officers of the Swiss customs pulled the semi-trailer over at around noon after noticing that the driver was under the influence of alcohol. The German motorway police undertook a blood test which had a positive result.
He had to hand in his driving licence on the spot after the police took a measurement of 1.5mg of alcohol. His journey to Switzerland came to an abrupt end.
The officers also found a banned flick-knife in the driver‘s cabin. The driver now faces two reports, the police headquarters in Freiburg said on Friday.
People smugglers tried to bring 16 refugees to Denmark via Basel
Two alleged people smugglers were caught at the motorway customs station at Basel/Weil am Rhein (D) on Wednesday. The two Egyptian citizens were allegedly trying to transport 16 Syrian refugees in their vehicles from Milan to Denmark via Germany.
The men, aged 32 and 50, were stopped around 8.30am on Wednesday, the German police said on Friday. The vehicles driven by the smugglers had been registered in Italy, where the 50-year-old is domiciled.
The youngest among the Syrian refugees, all of whom had no immigration documents, was a seven-month-old child. The group in the vehicles consisted of a family of six men, four women, and six children. All of them asked for asylum during the inspection.
According to early investigations, the Egyptian men had allegedly made contact with the Syrian family in Milan. The family was said to have previously crossed the Mediterranean from Libya to Italy. The adults said they were heading towards Denmark where they had relatives.
The German authorities assume it is an organised people smuggling operation. Following a brief arrest after the inspection, a magistrate on Thursday ordered that the alleged smugglers be taken into custody. The Syrians were taken to the first reception centre of the Bundesland, in Karlsruhe (Germany).
Considerable wildfire risk in the region
The authorities in both Basels have warned that the risk of wildfire remains considerable due to the low amount of rainfall over recent weeks. The wildfire risk has been raised to level 3 (orange). Therefore, the recommendations of the cantonal crisis unit and the office of forestry of both Basel, dated from 23 June, are still valid.
Too little rain fell in the last weeks over the entire region. As the forecasted rainfall was marginal and too little, there was no easing of the situation.
The recommendations of the cantonal crisis unit and the Office of Forestry, published on 23 June, asked the public the following:
- not to throw away cigarettes, other smoking products or matches;
- not to make fires except on official, permanent fire places – or to not make fires at all, especially when it is windy;
- to not use garden grills or improvised fire places in the forest or at its edges (root fires underneath the surface);
- to remove any inflammable material in the near vicinity to official fire places (dead wood, dry grass, etc.);
- to constantly supervise the fireplace and the neighbouring environment