Seventy-one illegal border-crossers were detained by police in the territory of the country from Friday to Sunday, the National Police Service informed the Hungarian news agency MTI on Monday.

According to statistics published on the website of the police, on Friday 24 illegal border-crossers were detained in the territory of the country, followed by another 46 on Saturday; they were escorted across the temporary security border fence. On the Ukrainian border section one migrant was apprehended, while procedures were instituted against two persons suspected of people smuggling.

Based on the legal rules in force as of 28 March 2017 during emergency situations caused by mass immigration, the police have authority to detain in the territory of the country and to escort back to the border fence any foreigner found to be in the territory of Hungary illegally if they are not suspected of having committed a criminal offence.

Last week 96 illegal border-crossers were detained in total in the territory of the country and were escorted by police back to the border. The week before – from 23 April to 29 April – this number was 80. Twenty migrants were apprehended on the Romanian and Ukrainian border sections last week, police statistics reveal.

(Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister/MTI)