Illegal migrants surge

A total of 501 illegal migrants were caught in Hungary over the weekend, the most since last autumn, the national police headquarters said on Monday. Figures posted on the police website show that 113 illegal migrants were caught last Friday, 151 on Saturday and 237 on Sunday. In the first weeks of the year, around ten illegal migrants were caught weekly but this rose to nearly 70 in late January and early February. Many said they were from Kosovo, Turkey and north Africa, with some from Haiti and Sri Lanka, figures issued by the police and the prosecutor’s office showed. Between last September, when a state of crisis over migrants was issued, and last Friday,  court proceedings were initiated against 1325 people for illegal border violation and against three people for damaging the border fence, the Szeged prosecutor’s office said.