Hungarian authorities apprehended almost 16,000 illegal migrants and 132 people smugglers last year

Chief Security Advisor György Bakondi said the Hungarian authorities apprehended almost 16,000 illegal migrants and 132 people smugglers last year.

Bakondi told commercial broadcaster TV2 that although this figure is lower compared with previous years, it still posed a serious challenge.

The number of irregular migrants arriving in Europe along the Balkan route increased in 2024, Bakondi said, adding that thanks to the cooperation between the Hungarian and Serbian police forces, migrant activity shifted towards Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia during the year.

Meanwhile, he said predictions that problems stemming from illegal migration would continue unless the European Union changed its “ill-advised” migration policy had come true in 2024.