Austria drugs CRACK-DOWN: 30 migrants among 31 men arrested in Graz drug bust

POLICE in Austria have arrested 31 men as part of a “zero-tolerance” crack-down on drugs culture but only one of the men is an Austrian citizen.

By ZOE EFSTATHIOU PUBLISHED: 01:53, Tue, Jan 17, 2017 | UPDATED: 02:28, Tue, Jan 17, 2017

In an effort to put an end to the Austrian city of Graz’ drugs scene, police arrested the men.

Fourteen of the men are from Nigeria, 12 are from Afghanistan, three are from Algeria, one is from Pakistan and one was Austrian.

Officers caught 15 of the men at the weekend after suspecting them of drug dealing on the streets of Graz.

Police said they also confiscated 2,500 euros of drug money when they seized the suspected criminals.


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Austria has had an influx of migrants in the past few years


Austria’s Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka is focusing on developing a ‘Safe Austria’ scheme and said: "In the field of drug-related crime, I believe that a clear zero-tolerance strategy will be developed."

A spokesman for the Interior Ministry warned: “If an asylum seeker is convicted under criminal law, this can lead to them losing their asylum status or being denied asylum. The ministry is also looking to speed up the process of deportation for such cases.”

The criminal complaints against migrants in Austria has soared over the past few years, with interior ministry figures showing that a staggering 42,010 property-related crimes were alleged to have been committed by migrants in 2015.

A staggering 23,951 of the charges are alleged to be bodily harm caused by the migrants.


Austria drugs CRACK-DOWN: 30 migrants among 31 men arrested ...