On March 20 (Thursday) between 12 noon and 9 p.m., cross-border checks were carried out on people and vehicles in the Aachen region, the Heinsberg district, the Düren district and the Euskirchen district, as well as close to the border in the Netherlands and Belgium.
Forces from the Federal Police, the Aachen and Cologne police headquarters, the district police authorities of Heinsberg, Düren and Euskirchen, the main customs office in Aachen and, on the Dutch side, the Politie Limburg and the Koninklijken Marechaussee, and on the Belgian side, the Weser/Göhl and Eifel police zones, the Eupen Federal Police, the Liège highway police and the Eupen customs office were on duty that day to ensure the safety of citizens.
A low double-digit number of violations of the Residence Act were recorded in the area of the Aachen Federal Police Inspectorate. In addition, a 36-year-old man from the Czech Republic was checked on the BAB 4 at around 1.30 pm. The public prosecutor's office in Hof an der Saale had issued a warrant for his arrest for driving without a license. His driver's license was revoked in 2024. He was therefore driving without a license again this time and was also carrying 0.68 grams of cocaine. Overall, numerous violations of the Consumer Cannabis Act and the Medicines Act were found.
Driving without a license and driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol were punished several times. One of the Aachen police's successes was a check at the Aachener-Land rest area. A kilogram of heroin with a market value of around 40,000 euros was found here with the help of a customs drug detection dog.
In the early afternoon, a joint Belgian-German patrol team set off in pursuit. This cross-border pursuit ended near Verviers with the arrest of 2 people. The investigation into this matter is still ongoing.
In the district of Heinsberg, 117 vehicles and 189 people were checked. The officers encountered 2 people who were carrying narcotics. These were seized and the persons were charged.
When another vehicle was checked, two people were found, one of whom had entered Germany illegally. Both were charged.
In addition, the officers found 3 people driving a vehicle under the influence of narcotics. They were prohibited from continuing their journey, a blood sample was taken and charges were laid.
Two people were not wearing their seatbelts.
Speed checks carried out at the same time in the district revealed that a total of 86 drivers were speeding - 31 of them so fast that they will be charged.
The sad front-runner was traveling at 152 km/h with a speed limit of 100 km/h - he is now likely to be banned from driving.
This large-scale operation served to effectively combat and curb unauthorized entry and smuggling crime, to effectively combat alcohol and narcotics offences and to combat domestic burglary. Customs also carried out checks on the movement of goods.
The aim of the extensive control measures of the individual law enforcement agencies was also to increase the sense of security of the more than 4 million inhabitants of the Euregio Meuse-Rhine.
Through professional cooperation between authorities and across borders, a permanent and modern development in the fight against crime is taking place.