Another 1,800 asylum seekers entered Netherlands last week

Another 1,800 asylum seekers entered the Netherlands last week, proving Justice State Secretary Klaas Dijkhoff’s expectations to be true. Secretary Dijkhoff last week said that it seems like people are making the crossing just before winter, reported broadcaster NOS. Initial thoughts were that the refugee inflow would dissipate during autumn. Last week saw the entry of 1,700 refugees into the Netherlands and the week before brought in 1,600. Bloomberg has reported that never before has Europe received as many refugees as last month, reporting 160,000 refugees crossing the Mediterranean Sea into the EU last month. Dijkhoff warned that pressure on the shelters remains high. During a visit to the Koninklijke Marechaussee at the Hazeldonk border crossing between Belgium and the Netherlands on Monday, Dijkhoff announced the number of human trafficking arrests had doubled since the introduction of additional mobile border controls. 40 arrests have been made thus far, mainly involving smugglers, with over 160 for this year alone.